Side events:

Presentation of Pew Research Center’s new report on public opinion around the world toward democracy and civil liberties

Room 7, Palais de l'Europe

Moderator: Ms Claudia LUCIANI, Director, Directorate of Democratic Governance, Council of Europe

The World Forum for Democracy will host the first public event for a new Pew Research Center report on public opinion around the world toward democracy and civil liberties. The report, which is based on a new survey of 38 nations across the globe, explores views about the importance of various democratic rights and institutions, and examines how people think about free speech and freedom of the press. How much do opinions about free expression vary, depending on the type of speech in question?  Are there situations in which people believe governments should be able to prevent media organizations from publishing information about politics, economics, or national security? Richard Wike, the Pew Research Center’s Director of Global Attitudes Research, will present the findings from the survey, and will discuss the ways in which results differ across countries and within countries.

Presenter: Mr Richard WIKE, USA, Director of Global Attitudes Research, Pew Research Center

Discussant: Mr Jan KLEIJSSEN, Director of the Information Society and Action against Crime Directorate, Council of Europe

Presentation of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights: Report on Surveillance by Intelligence Services – fundamental rights safeguards and remedies in the EU

Room 1, Palais de l'Europe

Moderator: Ms Sophie KWASNY, Council of Europe

Across the globe the Snowden revelations triggered a worldwide outcry in 2013. Public opinion in many countries questioned the scale and extent of mass surveillance programmes carried out by intelligence services. Who controls these programmes? What are the checks and balances? And what can be done if rights have been violated? FRA will shed light on these challenges during discussions at the World Forum for Democracy as it launches its report on the legal frameworks across the 28 EU Member States. The report is the first-ever such comparative report to look into the fundamental rights safeguards and remedies. It focuses specifically on oversight mechanisms and the remedies available to individuals in relation to the surveillance practices being carried out by Member States’ intelligence services within FRA’s wider project on surveillance safeguards and remedies.

Presenter: Mr Mario OETHEIMER, Head of Sector Information Society, Privacy and Data Protection, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights

Official opening: Welcome words by the World Forum for Democracy organisers

Council of Europe Hemicycle

Moderator: : Ms Carolin MAYER, Germany, Managing Editor, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg

• Mr Thorbjørn JAGLAND, Norway, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
• Mr Roland RIES, France, Mayor of Strasbourg
• Ms Lilla MERABET, France, Vice-President of the Alsace Region, President of the Commission Innovation, Research and Higher Education

Opening statements

• Mr Harlem DESIR, France’s Minister of State for European Affairs (speech - FR)
• Ms Michaëlle JEAN, Canada, Secretary General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (speech - FR)

Council of Europe Hemicycle

Plenary session 1: Surveillance– what is the right dose?

Council of Europe Hemicycle

Keynote address:

• Ms Faiza PATEL, Pakistan/USA, Co-Director, Liberty & National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law

Moderator: : Ms Anne BRASSEUR, Luxemburg, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

• Mr Jacob APPELBAUM, USA, Independent security researcher and journalist, developer and advocate with the Tor Project
• Mr William BINNEY, USA, Former high-level National Security Agency intelligence officer

Break

Plenary session 2: Lifting the veil of fear – building trust and resilience in diverse societies

Council of Europe Hemicycle

Keynote address:

• Ms Tawakkol KARMAN, Yemen, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2011

Moderator: : Ms Carolin MAYER, Germany, Managing Editor, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg

• Mr Ahmad IRAVANI, Iran, Ayatollah and President of the Center for the Study of Islam and the Middle East, Washington D.C.
• Mr Maciej JANCZAK, Poland, Vice-director of the UN and Human Rights Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Mr Francesco RAGAZZI, France/Italy, Assistant Professor in International Relations, Leiden University

Welcome Reception

Blue Restaurant of the Council of Europe