News (2019)
First Roundtable on Safety of Journalists in Georgia organized on 13 December
The Roundtable took place on 13 December in Tbilisi under the project “Supporting Freedom of Media and Internet in Georgia”. It gathered small group of main stakeholders in the field including representatives from Government, civil society, Public Defender’s Office, respective training centers...
1st steering committee: Support for Tunisian independent bodies at the heart of the priorities of the European Union and the Council of Europe
The European Union, the Council of Europe as well as representatives of the Tunisian independent authorities and civil society gathered for the first meeting of the steering committee of the “Project to Support Independent Bodies in Tunisia” (PAII-T) to assess the progress and prospects of the...
European ministers responsible for Media and Information Society will meet in Nicosia in October 2020
In view of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) the co-organisers, the Council of Europe and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, have carefully assessed the situation and after due consideration regarding the health and safety of the participants, have jointly agreed to postpone the...
Last call for quality journalism? – International conference in Ljubljana
How can the sustainability of quality news be ensured? Which are the responsibilities of actors such as online platforms, educators, regulators, civil society and academia with regard to preserving quality journalism? To search for answers to these questions and to tackle other challenges that...
AI and Human Rights presented at Octopus 2019
Last week, at the Octopus 2019 Cybercrime conference, Head of Information Society Department, Patrick Pennickx, participated in a session a special session to Artificial Intelligence and Cybercrime. He presented on “AI and Human Rights”, focusing on recent developments and the Council of Europe...
New public policies for the Internet – 2019 IGF in Berlin
What are the risks of discrimination created by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? What access to data across borders do law enforcement need in order to fight cybercrime? How can privacy be protected in digital platforms? How do we rise to the challenge of tackling illegal content online...
5th Georgian Internet Governance Forum GeoIGF 2019
The 5th Georgian Internet Governance Forum GeoIGF 2019 took place in Tbilisi on 13 November 2019. The forum concerned current challenges in Georgia in the field of internet. The forum has been opened by Nikoloz Alavidze - Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development; Cristian Urse –...
Chair of the CDMSI at the World Forum for Democracy
On 6 November 2019, ambassador Thomas Schneider, the Chair of the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) contributed to the Lab of the World Forum for Democracy on "Building Resilience to Disinformation". The Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) is...
Threats to media freedom and journalists’ security in Europe presented at the LIBE hearing in Brussels
On 6 November, Head of Information Society Department, Patrick Penninckx intervened in a hearing on Freedom of Expression and Combating hate speech online and offline held by the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Media Freedom in Brussels. He presented the Council of...
The Council of Europe launches a new media project in Azerbaijan
The Council of Europe organised a launching conference to present its new project on “Reinforcing gender equality and other ethical standards in Azerbaijani media” to national counterparts and international organisations on 6 November 2019 in Baku. It is a follow-up project of the previous CoE...
Council of Europe and European Union further their support for freedom of expression and media in Albania
Promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of the media will continue to be in the focus of the Council of Europe and European Union during the 2nd Phase of the jointly supported Horizontal Facility Action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Albania (JUFREX II)”. The first...
Meeting of the drafting group ahead of 2020 ministerial conference in Cyprus
The working group was set up to assist the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) in preparing the draft resolutions in view of the ministerial conference « Artificial intelligence – Intelligent politics Challenges and opportunities for media and democracy » which will take...
Call for tenders for the provision of ISD Web Management Services 2020-2024
The Council of Europe is looking for a Provider with a particular expertise on web content management in order to support the implementation of the Programme for the Promotion of the Freedom of Expression and Data Protection. This Contract will take effect on 1 January 2020 and it is concluded...
The first Steering Committee meeting of the Action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in North Macedonia (JUFREX 2)” held in Skopje
The meeting brought together representatives of Academy of Judges and Public Prosecutors, Association of Journalists of Macedonia, Ministry of Interior, Bar Association, Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, Faculty of Law “Lustinianus Primus” – Skopje, Centre for SEELS, Secretariat...
The first Steering Committee meeting of the Action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Serbia (JUFREX 2)” held in Belgrade
The first Steering Committee meeting of the Action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Serbia (JUFREX2)” has been successfully organized. The meeting brought together representatives of Judicial Academy, Ministry of Interior, Bar Association, Regulatory Authority for Electronic...
Focus on responsible AI: a new Council of Europe study draws attention to the responsibility challenges linked to the use of artificial intelligence
Advanced digital technologies and services today are increasingly enhanced by self-learning and other AI tools. This has created substantial benefits for society and added more efficiency, accuracy and convenience to many of our lives. Yet, public anxiety around AI is also growing. A new Council...
CALL FOR REGISTRATION: (Last) call for quality journalism – Ljubljana, 28-29 November 2019
Conference on quality journalism and media and information literacy co-organised the Council of Europe and the Slovenian Ministry of Culture will take place in Ljubljana, National Gallery of Slovenia, on 28-29 November. The internet and digital technology have brought the world to our fingertips,...
Call for tender
Within the framework of its 2018-2021 Neighbourhood Partnership with Morocco, the Council of Europe is implementing a project aiming at promoting freedom of expression and media pluralism in Morocco. The project is implemented by the Council of Europe in the framework of its partnership agreement...
New challenges and emerging priorities assessed by the PACE culture committee
Members of the PACE Sub-committee on Media and Information Society met in Strasbourg on 2nd of October 2019, on the margins of the Parliamentary Assembly plenary, to assess the prospective agenda. Patrick Penninckx, Head of the Information Society department of the Council of Europe presented the...
Moldovans invited to learn and celebrate diversity through movies
Documentary films are an extremely powerful medium of raising awareness about human rights and diversity issues and inspiring change. This is why the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau is organising in partnership with Telefilm-Chisinau Department of the public service broadcasting and the...
Call for tenders for the provision of consultancy services in the field of freedom of expression and media pluralism
The Council of Europe constitutes a pool of experts consultants having specific expertise in various topics in the field of freedom of expression and media pluralism in order to support the implementation of the joint EU-CoE programme “Support to independent instances in Tunisia – (PAII-T) “ and...
Supporting media legislation reform in Montenegro
On October 1, 2019, Patrick Penninckx, head of the Information Society Department, met Aleksandar Bogdanovic, Minister of Culture of Montenegro, in Cetinje, in order to discuss about the current legislative reform of the media policy area, and the Future co-operation between the Council of Europe...
Quality journalism in the digital age
The 4th meeting of the Committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital age (MSI-JOQ) took place in Strasbourg. The Committee discussed and finalised the Draft study on supporting quality journalism through media and information literacy. The experts also finalised the Draft...
European Union and Council of Europe continue supporting freedom of expression and freedom of media in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The first meeting of Steering Committee of the Action on “Freedom of the expressions and freedom of media in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (JUFREX 2), funded through the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey II, was held in Sarajevo on...
MSI-AUT experts discuss impacts of algorithmic systems on human rights
The 4th meeting of the Committee of experts on human rights dimensions of automated data processing and different forms of artificial intelligence (MSI-AUT) takes place in Strasbourg on 23 and 24 September 2019. The experts are finalising the draft recommendation on the human rights impacts of...
Focus on defamation: a new Council of Europe study draws attention to dangers of ‘forum shopping’ in defamation cases
What we say online can generate enormous impacts across the globe. Owing to the growing inter-connectedness of modern societies, a defamatory statement published online in one state can be accessed instantly and nearly everywhere. For the courts, this creates a challenge: an allegedly defamatory...
Blocking and filtering online content in members states - new updates
In 2015, the Council of Europe commissioned a Comparative study on “Blocking, filtering and take-down of illegal internet content” which examined the law and practice in the 47 Council of Europe member States relating to the regulation of online content. The study facilitated the identification...
First Steering Committee of “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Montenegro (JUFREX 2)”
First Steering Committee of joint European Union and Council of Europe Action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Montenegro (JUFREX 2)” has been successfully organised. The meeting brought together representatives of the Government, judiciary, police, broadcasting regulator,...
JUFREX 2: Regional conference on Audiovisual Media Services and the role of Media Regulatory Authorities
The Council of Europe, in the framework of the Regional Action on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in South East Europe – JUFREX 2, implemented under the joint EU/CoE Horizontal Facility II for Western Balkans and Turkey, has organised a Regional conference on Audiovisual Media...
Coordination meeting between EU funded media projects in Western Balkans and Media Days
Back to back to the EU/Western Balkan Media Days, European Union has organised a meeting between representatives of EU funded regional projects and representatives of European Union delegation in charge of media. “The follow-up to the joint EU/CoE programme JUFREX is conceived to promote freedom...
Following the decision of the Committee of Ministers on 16 March 2022 the Russian Federation is no longer a member of the Council of Europe. The website will be updated as soon as possible to take account of this development.
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