Regional Forum for Europe | UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• CMPF: Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom Programme

Organised by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, the Europe Forum will feature Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission (Values and Transparency) and Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE Representative for Freedom of the Media as they lead a discussion on the risks for pluralism and democracy in the new media and information system and potential policies for how to tackle them. The Europe Forum will contribute to the plenary sessions within the World PRess Freedom Day (WPFD) global conference organised by UNESCO.

The first session of the event (Platform’s ecology and information literacy - 9:00-10:00 CET) will be devoted to the analysis and discussion of the risks associated with online disinformation and the rise of global online platforms, their business models, their recommender systems and algorithms. Notwithstanding an apparent abundance of information, increasing doubts about the quality and diversity of online news have grown in the last decade. Is pluralistic and quality information a public good that is at risk in the digital age? How to preserve it and its function in a democratic society? How to tackle online disinformation and promote quality content? How to empower citizens with media and information literacy, that is becoming one of the key competences to critically assess the information received? 

The second session (The economic challenge of information in Europe 10:00-11:00 CET) will discuss the economic challenges for the media market, as the rise and growth of global online platforms has undermined the economic foundations of the news media. How to preserve quality journalism in a media and information market environment that is increasingly occupied by online platforms? The debate will be devoted to discussing how Europe is reacting to the crisis of the media market and what are the policies at stake to boost quality information in the online sphere.