A conference jointly organised by the Council of Europe and Reporters Without Borders will bring together policy makers, academics and regulators to discuss public policies aimed at strengthening media pluralism, including media and information literacy programmes, thereby also marking the European Week of Media Literacy.

On 19 March, the Academic dialogue on media and Information literacy in the morning will be opened by Olaf Steenfadt, the project director of the Media Ownership Monitor & Journalism Trust Initiative at the Reporters Without Borders and Patrick Penninckx, the Head of the Information Society Department at the Council of Europe. This academic dialogue will map the research landscape and explore the current practices and programmes, aiming to develop a platform for future MIL research agenda, with a focus on impact evaluation. Researchers from different parts of the world will discuss whether MIL delivers on its vision.

In the afternoon, the High-level policy dialogue on media regulation and concentration of ownership will be held. During this regulatory exchange a range of stakeholders including politicians, government officials, regulators and NGO/CSO representatives will discuss the challenges, valuable practices and approaches to media pluralism, ownership, control and concentration.

The Conference of 20 March will also explore how existing media legislation and policies regulating media ownership and control can be applied to the new media environment, where new online actors have assumed an essential role in distributing content and shaping public opinion. Held under the theme “Media Pluralism – how can we deliver?” the conference will also tackle the impact of media literacy on media consumption and public opinion as well as the role it can play against disinformation. Jan Kleijssen, director of Information Society and Action against Crime, and Michael Rediske, president of Reporters Without Borders International will speak at the opening.

Programme