Programme

Connecting EU seminar

A bastion of democracy: helping journalism survive and thrive

17-18 October 2024

European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels

Thursday 17 October

EESC, Van Maerlant 2, VMA building, room VMA 23

• 8.30 – 9.00 a.m.: Registration and coffee
• 9.00 – 10.00 a.m.: Welcome session
  • Introduction: Aurel Laurenţiu Plosceanu, EESC Vice-President for Communication
  • Welcome speeches:
    • Oliver Röpke, EESC President
    • Ricardo Gutiérrez, General Secretary of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
    • Jerzy Pomianowski, Executive Director for the European Endowment for Democracy
• 10.00 – 10.30 a.m.: Keynote speech
  • “Trusted Information in the Age of Generative AI” by Dr Alexandra Borchardt, journalist, leadership professor, media consultant; coach for Wan-Ifra's Table Stakes Europe Project; Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, lead author of EBU study ‘Trusted journalism in the age of generative AI’
• 10.30 – 11.15 a.m.: Coffee break
• 11.15 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.: Panel 1: Responsible journalism in the post-truth era
  • Introduction: 'How can civil society help uphold media freedom and pluralism' – round table with Milena Angelova (EESC Employers' Group), Lucie Studnična (President of EESC Workers' Group) and Seamus Boland (President of EESC Civil Society Organisations' Group)
  • Moderated by: Javier Arguedas, Broadcast Journalist | News Anchor, Deutsche Welle
  • Panelists:
    • Jean-Paul Marthoz, columnist for Le Soir, coordinator of the Council of Europe press freedom report
    • Clothilde Goujard, freelance reporter, former senior technology reporter at Politico
    • Gretel Kahn, journalist for the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
• 1.00 – 2.30 p.m.: Lunch break
• 2.30 – 4.30 p.m.: Panel 2: The job of living dangerously – investigative reporting
  • Host: Aurel Laurenţiu Plosceanu, EESC Vice-President for Communication
  • Introduction:
    • Christian Moos, EESC member, rapporteur of EESC opinions on Defence of Democracy Package and European Media Freedom Act (video message)
    • Ana Isabel Costa Martins, Adviser to the Director for Media, European Parliament – The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism
    • Andreas Lamm, Interim Managing Director at European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) – The Hannah Arendt Initiative
    • Andrey Gnyot, journalist and filmmaker from Belarus, detained in Serbia (video message)
  • Moderated by: Tomas Miglierina, RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera
  • Panelists:
    • Lukaš Diko, director, Jan Kuciak Investigative Centre, Slovakia
    • Gill Phillips – freelance solicitor, former editorial legal director of The Guardian, UK
    • Hanna Liubakova, journalist from Belarus, Non-resident fellow @AtlanticCouncil

Friday 18 October

EESC, Rue Belliard 99-101, JDE building, Atrium 6

• 8.30 – 9.00 a.m.: Registration and coffee
• 9.00 – 10.00 a.m.: Opening session
  • Moderated by: Jennifer Baker, journalist and moderator
  • Welcome speech: Isabelle Le Galo Flores, EESC Secretary General – Together we are stronger (video message)
• Informative session – Connecting with young audiences
  • Rieke Smit, #UsetheNews – How to reach the TikTok Generation
  • Nina Skočak, communication specialist, digital content creator, influencer – From likes on TikTok to votes for the European Parliament
• 10.00 a.m. – 12 noon: Working as a press or communication officer in the age of Instagram, TikTok and AI – practical workshops
  • Lessons on communication content (with trainer Tom Moylan, director of Moylan Communications)
  • Writing for social media (with trainer Katarzyna Kowalewska, social media manager at the European External Action Service, EEAS)
• 12.00 – 12:05 p.m.: Concluding remarks by Aurel Laurenţiu Plosceanu, EESC Vice-President for Communication
• 12.00 – 1.00 p.m.: Lunch