1st eastern partnership media conference role of media in...

1st Eastern Partnership Media Conference

ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE EASTERN

PARTNERSHIPMay 19 – 20, 2015, Riga

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1st Eastern Partnership Media ConferenceROLE OF MEDIA

IN THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIPMay 19 – 20, 2015

Venue: Radisson Blu “Latvija” Hotel, 55 Elizabetes iela, Riga, Latvia

Working languages: Latvian, English and Russian with simultaneous interpretation

WI-FI: Hotel Latvija

Password: 1eapmedia

Hashtag: #EaPMedia

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PROGRAMME

Tuesday, 19 May15:00 – 19:30 Registration (By “Omega 1” Hall)

19:30 – 21:00 Welcome Reception (Hall 1)

Address by Andrejs Pildegovičs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia

Wednesday, 20 May08:00 – 09:00 Registration (By “Omega 1” Hall)

09:00 – 09:45 Welcome and Opening Session (“Omega 1” Hall)

Welcome by Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima (Parliament) of the Republic of Latvia

• Christian Danielsson, Director-General of Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), European Commission

• Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights

• Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

• Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of the Club de Madrid (2014), President of the Republic of Latvia (1999-2007), Chair of the High-Level Group on Freedom and Pluralism of Media in the European Union (2011-2012)

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Chaired by Andrejs Pildegovičs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia

09:45 – 11:15 SESSION 1: Media Environment in the Eastern Partnership Countries – Trends and Challenges (45 min panellists – 45 min discussion)

(“Omega 1” Hall)

The panel will look at the media landscape in the EaP countries, including the legal, regulatory and policy environment, and media integrity. What is the role of governments in ensuring an open and pluralistic media environment? What are the factors impacting on the development of professional media in the countries of the EaP region? What are the implications of the development of the Internet and social media for the overall media environment?

Chaired by Eduards Stiprais, Undersecretary of State - Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia

Moderated by Aidan White, Director of Ethical Journalism Network & Former Secretary-General of the International Federation of Journalists

Speakers:

• Boris Navasardian, President of Yerevan Press Club (Armenia)

• Oksana Romaniuk, Executive Director of Institute of Mass Information (Ukraine)

• Tatiana Repkova, Founder of Media Managers Club

• Ehtel Halliste, Estonian Centre of Eastern Partnership

11:15 – 11:45 Coffee Break (Hall 2)

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11:45 – 13:15 SESSION 2: Resilient Media – Ensuring the Right of Citizens to Balanced, Factual and Reliable Information (45 min panellists – 45 min discussion)


The panel will consider the role that media play in ensuring the free flow of objective information in a challenging environment. How can the resilience and professionalism of the media be strengthened? What factors impact on critical thinking and media literacy in society? How can cooperation between media professionals and media outlets, including at regional and international level, support the free flow of information in the EaP region?


Moderated by Roland Freudenstein, Deputy Director - Head of Research at Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies

Speakers:

• Dace Melbārde, Minister for Culture of the Republic of Latvia

• Petru Macovei, Executive Director of the Association of Independent Press (Moldova)

• Zhanna Litvina, Chairwoman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (1995-2015) (Belarus)

• Jerzy Pomianowski, Executive Director of European Endowment for Democracy

13:15 – 14:45 Buffet Lunch (Restaurant “Esplanāde”)

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14:45 – 16:15 SESSION 3: The Way Forward – Identifying Appropriate Responses to Challenges and Donor Support (45 min panellists – 45 min discussion)


The panel will discuss responses to the challenges, take stock of the EU’s assistance to media in the EaP region, and look at how to enhance possible contributions to improving the overall media environment in partner countries. How can capacity building amongst media professionals and media outlets best be supported? What role can professional networks play in improving overall media standards, and how can the development of such networks be supported? What role does opinion polling and media monitoring play in overall communication efforts? Are there other areas where donors can assist in the development of a professional and independent media sector?


Moderated by Gunnar Wiegand, Director of Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE Directorate of the EEAS

Speakers:

• Arif Aliyev, Chairman of “Yeni Nesil” (New Generation) Journalists’ Union (Azerbaijan)

• Maia Mikashavidze, Professor at GIPA, Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management (Georgia)

• Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, President of the Steering Committee of European Federation of Journalists

• Tarmu Tammerk, President of Organization of News Ombudsmen / Media Ethics Ombudsman of Estonian Public Broadcasting Company

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16:15 – 16:45 Coffee Break (Hall 2)

16:45 – 17:30 Summary of the Conference by Eduards Stiprais, Undersecretary of State - Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia

Concluding Speech by Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission


17:30 Cocktail Reception (Hall 2)

Special Event

Tuesday, 19 May18:30 – 19:30 Russian Language Media in the Eastern Partnership

Region and Beyond – A Sneak Preview of the Feasibility Study by the European Endowment for Democracy


The Brussels-based European Endowment for Democracy will present the preliminary findings of its feasibility study on Russian Language Media Initiatives in the Eastern Partnership region and beyond. The aim of the study is to provide recommendations on the way forward for development of independent Russian Language Media and to consolidate different actors in the Russian language info-sphere in order to optimise cooperation and identify synergies. The study is conducted by the Endowment with the support of a grant from the Government of the Netherlands and with a contribution from the Latvian government.

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Chaired by Jerzy Pomianowski, Executive Director of European Endowment for Democracy

Speakers:

• John O’Loan, Co-Editor of the Feasibility Study

• Peter Pomerantsev, Author of a Chapter of the Feasibility Study

• Nataliia Lygachova, Founder and Chief-Editor of Telekritika (Ukraine)

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CHAIRS, MODERATORS AND SPEAKERS

Welcome and Opening Session

INĀRA MŪRNIECE,Speaker of the Saeima (Parliament) of the Republic of Latvia Ināra Mūrniece was elected as the Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia on 4 November 2014. She represents the National Alliance of All for Latvia! and For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK. She has been a member of the Saeima since

2011. In the period between 2011 and 2014, Ināra Mūrniece was the Chairperson of the Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee, and between September and November 2014 she was the Chairperson of the National Alliance of All for Latvia! and For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK parliamentary group.

Before being involved in politics, for 16 years Ināra Mūrniece worked in the editorial office of the largest daily newspaper, Latvijas Avīze, reporting on internal affairs and foreign policy matters.

Ināra Mūrniece has a degree in translation. In 2009, she graduated from the Faculty of Modern Languages of the University of Latvia, and in 2007, she obtained a professional bachelor’s degree in translating and interpreting at the University College of Economics and Culture. At the University of Latvia, she also studied the Latvian language and literature.

CHRISTIAN DANIELSSON,Director-General of Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), European CommissionChristian Danielsson is the Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission. He joined the European Commission in 1995 as a Member

of the Cabinet of Commissioner Anita Gradin. He held several positions in the

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Commission, including Deputy Head of Cabinet of Vice-President Verheugen and Director in DG Enlargement. From 2008 to 2010 Christian Danielsson was Permanent Representative for Sweden before he became Deputy Secretary-General of the European Commission in 2011. In 2013 he became Director-General for Enlargement and since 2015 he is Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations.

Before joining the Commission, he worked for the Swedish diplomatic service.

Christian Danielsson has graduated in Business Administration and Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics.

NILS MUIŽNIEKS,Council of Europe Commissioner for Human RightsCouncil of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights since 1 April 2012, Nils Muižnieks has been working in the field of human rights for the past two decades, including as Director of the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia, Chairman of the European

Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Latvian minister responsible for social integration, anti-discrimination, minority rights, and civil society development, and Director of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies. He has published extensively on racism, discrimination and minority rights.

DUNJA MIJATOVIĆ,OSCE Representative on Freedom of the MediaDunja Mijatović was appointed as the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media in March 2010.

A native of Sarajevo, prior to joining the OSCE, in 1998 Mijatović served as one of the founders of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she

helped create the legal, regulatory and policy framework for media in that complex, post-war society.

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Her work is often cross-cultural and transnational. In 2007 she was selected as president of the European Platform of Regulatory Agencies (EPRA), the largest media regulators’ network in the world representing 52 regulatory agencies from 46 countries. Mijatović was the first Chairperson of EPRA from a non-EU Member State and the first woman to chair the network of regulatory agencies.

She is a frequent guest lecturer and a regular contributor of articles and commentary pieces in international media on subjects such as human rights, media freedom, broadcast regulation, new media, and journalists’ safety.

VAIRA VĪĶE-FREIBERGA,President of the Club de Madrid (2014- ), President of the Republic of Latvia (1999-2007), Chair of the High-Level Group on Freedom and Pluralism of Media in the European Union (2011-2012)Dr Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga is President of the Club de Madrid and former President of Latvia (1999-2007). She was instrumental

in achieving membership in the EU and NATO for her country and was Special Envoy on UN reform. She was vice-chair of the Reflection group on the long-term future of Europe, and chaired the High-level group on freedom and pluralism of media in the EU in 2011-12. She is currently a member of two High-level groups on European security and defence.

Born in Riga, she started her schooling in refugee camps in Germany, and then lived in Morocco and Canada, obtaining a Ph.D. at McGill University (1965). After a distinguished career as Professor of psychology at the University of Montreal, she returned to her native country in 1998 to head the Latvian Institute. She is a member of 30 international organizations, has published extensively and is much in demand as speaker.

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ANDREJS PILDEGOVIČS,State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of LatviaMr Andrejs Pildegovičs has been the State Secretary since May 2013. He earned an undergraduate degree in Chinese History and Language Studies at the University of St. Petersburg in 1994. In 1995, he went to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University

for diplomatic studies, and then participated in the Foreign Service Programme at Oxford University during the 1998/1999 academic year. Mr Pildegovičs joined the Latvian Foreign Service in 1994. Mr Pildegovičs then went to work directly for the President of Latvia, Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, serving as her Foreign Policy Advisor from 2000 to 2006, and then, as Chief of Staff of the President`s Chancery, form 2006 to 2007. In July 2007, Mr Pildegovičs began work as Latvia’s Ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C., and in May 2008 he was accredited to the United Mexican States (Mexico) as well. Aster this tour of duty abroad, from July 2012 till May 2013, he was Political Director of the Latvian Foreign Ministry in Riga.

SESSION 1: Media Environment in the Eastern Partnership Countries – Trends and Challenges

EDUARDS STIPRAIS,Undersecretary of State - Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of LatviaEduards Stiprais has been the Undersecretary of State - Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia since May 2013.

Graduated from the University of Latvia (Faculty of Economics) and joined Diplomatic Service in 1993. Since then most of his career he held various positions in the Ministry and in Brussels dealing with issues of European integration, ultimately being appointed Deputy Permanent Representative (2003) and Permanent Representative (2004-2007) to EU. After serving as the Head

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of Chancellery to the President of Latvia (2007-2008) he re-joined Diplomatic Service first as the Director General for Bilateral Relations (2009) and then as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of Saint James’s (2009-2013).

Over last twenty years he acquired extensive knowledge of EU policies participating in negotiations between Latvia and EU on the Free Trade Agreement (1993-1994) and the Association Agreement (1994-1995). In 1998 -2003 he served as the Head of the Task force for the Preparation of Accession Negotiations and later as Latvia’s Deputy Chief Negotiator in accession negotiations to EU.

AIDAN WHITE,Director of Ethical Journalism Network & Former Secretary-General of the International Federation of JournalistsAidan White is the Director of the Ethical Journalism Network, the global organisation of the world’s major media professional groups which promotes ethics, good governance and self-

regulation of journalism across all media platforms.

White is a journalist who has worked on numerous publications including The Guardian and the Financial Times and for 24 years was General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, during which time he helped create the world’s largest organisation of journalists with members in 126 countries.

He founded the EJN in 2012 and today the Network has 50 members and supports programmes to strengthen journalism in the Middle East, South Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.

For 20 years he has been an adviser to the intergovernmental organisations, including the United Nations and its major agencies, on ethical journalism and regulation of media. He has written extensively on media policy, journalism and human rights.

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BORIS NAVASARDIAN,President of Yerevan Press Club (Armenia)Boris Navasardian has been the President of the Yerevan Press Club, the first independent association of journalists in Armenia, since its foundation in 1995. From 2002 till 2006, he has been chairing the Board of the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Armenia. In 2005-2007 Mr Navasardian was member

of the Council of Europe’s expert group on “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Information in Times of Crisis”. In 2009-2011 and 2012-2014 he was elected as a member of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, chairing the SC in 2012-2013. His journalistic career started in 1979. Since then Boris Navasardian has held various positions in media and communications. In 1990 he headed the Russian version of “Republic of Armenia” daily – the organ of the first Parliament of independent Armenia. In 1990-1995 he was also the publisher and editor-in-chief of “Zerkalo” weekly. Boris Navasardian lectured at Yerevan State University, the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) State University and the Yerevan State Linguistics University. He has authored numerous articles and TV programmes, managed dozens of projects on media development, civil society development, and conflict resolution, and has been in charge of the publication of over 50 books on journalism and democracy promotion. Mr Navasardian served as country expert for such researches as “European Integration Index for Eastern Partnership Countries”, “Eastern Partnership Media Freedom Landscape” and many others.

OKSANA ROMANIUK,Executive Director of Institute of Mass Information (Ukraine)Oksana Romaniuk is executive director of the Institute of Mass Information, Ukraine’s most prominent media watchdog and journalist rights organization, and is a key organizing member of Stop Censorship! movement of Ukrainian journalists. Protecting

freedom of expression and improving citizens’ right to information have long been the focus of Oksana’s work. As a media expert and journalist, she has been involved in a number of projects on journalistic standards, citizen engagement, and digital security.

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TATIANA REPKOVA,Founder of Media Managers ClubTatiana Repkova is the founder of Media Managers Club, the global online sharing resource and a social network for news media management. The interactive portal mediamanagersclub.org is based on Repkova’s book New Times: Making a Professional Newspaper in an Emerging Democracy, a manual

for newspaper publishers and editors, which has been published in 12 languages.

Repkova is the former Director of Research and Information Management at the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, WAN-IFRA, in Paris, France (2002-2010). Her major project at WAN-IFRA was the annual publication of World Press Trends, the primary source of newspaper and media market research reports, analyses and statistics organized by countries, regions and worldwide.

She has conducted media management seminars and consulted media in 20 countries in Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia, East Africa and China.

EHTEL HALLISTE,Estonian Centre of Eastern PartnershipEhtel Halliste is a highly qualified communication professional with over 20 years of experience gained from the public sector, as an international communication expert for the EU and as a consultant and trainer for the UNDP. She has advised government authorities and trained public communicators in

Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Ukraine and Uzbekistan on communication and public relations as well as public diplomacy. For more than ten years Ehtel served as the press spokesperson for the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and she has been posted to Moscow and later to Brussels during the Estonian accession process to the EU and NATO. She has also worked for the European Union in Pakistan, Nepal, Cambodia, Lebanon, Sudan, South Sudan and Nigeria. Currently Ehtel is the Team Leader for the EU Centre in Armenia and is responsible for coordinating the communication efforts and activities of more than 90 EU-funded projects in Armenia.

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SESSION 2: Resilient Media – Ensuring the Right of Citizens to Balanced, Factual and Reliable Information

EDUARDS STIPRAIS,Undersecretary of State - Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia (see page 13)

ROLAND FREUDENSTEIN,Deputy Director - Head of Research at Wilfried Martens Centre for European StudiesRoland Freudenstein was born in 1960 in Bonn, Germany. After a two year military service, studied political science, economics, Japan studies and international relations in Bonn and Los Angeles. Having worked as a research fellow at the German

Council on Foreign Relations in Bonn, he joined the foreign and security policy planning staff of the European Commission in Brussels in the 1990s. Subsequently became the director of the Warsaw office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and later held a leading function in the Foundation’s central office in Berlin. He then represented the German State of Hamburg to the EU. Since 2008, Deputy Director of the Brussels-based Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, the think tank of the European People’s Party. He has publications on EU, international security, global democracy support and the new confrontation with Russia.

DACE MELBĀRDE,Minister for Culture of the Republic of LatviaMs Melbārde has worked as Secretary General of the Latvian National Commission for UNESCO, Deputy State Secretary on Cultural Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Country Manager of the British Council Latvia, Director of the National State Centre for Arts Education and Intangible Heritage and the organizer of the

Latvian Song and Dance Celebration. As she took upon the role of the Minister for Culture, Ms Melbārde also returned to the Latvian National Commission for

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UNESCO as its president. In 2013, Ms Melbārde was Chairperson of the Culture Commission during the 37th session of the General Conference of UNESCO. Under her leadership the Latvian Song and Dance Celebration tradition was applied for inclusion in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Ms Melbārde holds MA in Theory of Culture (Latvian Academy of Culture, 1996) and MS in Public Administration (University of Latvia, 2001).

PETRU MACOVEI,Executive Director of the Association of Independent Press (Moldova)He has been acting as the Executive Director of the Association of Independent Press (API), www.api.md, from Republic of Moldova since the year 2004. His experience in journalism dates with the year 1991: worked as reporter, editor and editor-in-chief

at several independent newspapers, served as a radio editor, presented a debate show at Moldova 1 Public Television.

At present, he is managing the activity of API, which is one of the most important media associations in Moldova. Mr Macovei is the director of API’s main projects and programmes, including those related to the training of journalists. Throughout 2013-2014, he coordinated the Programme of mass-media institutions’ self-assessment through gender dimension. As national expert in mass-media development, he took part in numerous international topic-based conferences. He serves as trainer in journalistic ethics and professional deontology, also as instructor at Chisinau Advanced School of Journalism. So far, he has moderated numerous conferences, seminars and round tables on various topics.

Mr Macovei was a member of the National Council for Participation and National Council for NGOs in Moldova. He is the secretary of Moldova Press Council – journalistic self-regulatory structure which examines the complaints of media consumers against journalists and promotes quality journalism.

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ZHANNA LITVINA,Chairwoman of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (1995-2015) (Belarus)From 1976 to 1994 worked for the Belarusian State TV and Radio Company. In 1995-1999 was chief of the Radio Liberty Belarusian service. In 1995-1996 was concept creator and head of the independent Belarusian-language 101.2 FM radio that

was allowed to broadcast its programmes for one year only; in 1999-2003 she founded and ran the Radio Racyja.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) is a non-governmental association of media workers, promoting freedom of expression and independent journalism. BAJ unites over 1000 journalists, editors, and media workers all over Belarus. BAJ promotes freedom of expression, rights of journalists, provides support to journalists prosecuted for professional activities, and organises educational programmes in journalism. BAJ is an associate member of the International Federation of Journalists and a member of the European Federation of Journalists, and of IFEX network.

BAJ has received several awards: the Golden Pen of Freedom Prize (June 2003), Sakharov Prize for the Freedom of Speech (December 2004), the Atlantic Council Freedom Award (June 2011). In December 2008, Zhanna Litvina was awarded by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung for human rights activities.

JERZY POMIANOWSKI,Executive Director of European Endowment for DemocracyAfter two years as Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland, Jerzy Pomianowski is leading the newly founded European Endowment for Democracy, as its Executive Director since January 2013.

Prior to leading the Polish Foreign Service’s democratisation agenda, Pomianowski worked for the joint international initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Partnership for Democratic Governance. As

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its Director (2008-2011), he supported countries destabilised by armed conflict or natural disasters. This followed his work as Director General of the Polish Foreign Service (2005-06) and his launch of Poland’s Development Cooperation and Aid (2006-08).

Pomianowski began his career as a civil servant in 1990, just after the fall of communism, first in the Ministry of Education, and then in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After being in charge of Poland’s relations with Asia, Middle East and Africa, he was Ambassador to Japan from 1997-2002.

From 1980-89, Pomianowski was an active member of the democratic opposition in Poland. He was a board member of the Independent Students’ Association and co-founder of the students’ independent publishing house during his Sociology studies at University of Warsaw.

Founder of the Warsaw Centre for Japanese Sports, Pomianowski devotes his free time to manage the Polish Aikido Federation as its present president.

SESSION 3: The Way Forward – Identifying Appropriate Responses to

Challenges and Donor Support


GUNNAR WIEGAND,Director of Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE Directorate of the EEASGunnar Wiegand is the Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Regional Cooperation and OSCE at the European External Action Service since 2011. In this function he has been

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the EU’s Chief Negotiator for the Association Agreements with Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, as well as the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Kazakhstan. He negotiated the EU-Ukraine Association Agendas and represents the EU in the 5+2 talks on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict. He is also the Deputy Chief Negotiator for the New Agreement with Russia and the EU Coordinator of the EU-Russia Partnership for Modernisation.

Before this Gunnar Wiegand had worked in various functions related to external relations and trade policy at the European Commission since 1990, including as Spokesman for External Relations to Commissioner Chris Patten until 2002, as Head of Unit, first for Relations with the United States and Canada (2002-2006); and then for Relations with Russia and the Northern Dimension (2006-2008), when he was appointed Director for Eastern Europe, Southern Caucasus and Central Asia at the European Commission’s External Relations Directorate-General.

ARIF ALIYEV,Chairman of “Yeni Nesil” (New Generation) Journalists’ Union (Azerbaijan)Arif Aliyev has been the Chairman of the “Yeni Nesil” Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan since 1995. He graduated Moscow State University, journalism faculty and later worked in Azerinform news agency (1983-1986), “Molodyoj Azerbaijana”

newspaper (1986-1988). He has been the deputy editor-in-chief of “Azadlyq” newspaper (1989-1990), general director of “Turan” Information-Publishing House and editor-in-chief of Khazar magazine (1990-1992). In 1992-1993, Arif Aliyev as the press secretary of the President of Azerbaijan managed the staff of the Press Office. He has given lectures in journalism at the Khazar University (1994-1995) and been the first president of the Baku Press Club (1998-2005) and board director of “Gyun Seher” daily newspaper (2005-2007). He has twenty years of experience in advocacy and lobbying in media development (building coalitions, promotion of laws, policy researches, preparation of policy recommendations) and in working with international donors.

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MAIA MIKASHAVIDZE,Professor at GIPA, Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management (Georgia)Maia Mikashavidze is a mass communication scholar and development professional with nearly 18 years of sectorial management experience. She co-founded GIPA’s Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management, student FM Radio

GIPA, and Frontline Club Georgia. In 2010, Mikashavidze co-founded Management Academy, an executive-level training programme. Prior to 2000, Mikashavidze served as an information assistant at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi. Mikashavidze has received two meritorious honour awards from the U.S. government, and has provided consulting services to the U.S. government, the Council of Europe, OSCE, Freedom House, among others. Mikashavidze is an advisory board member for the International Centre for Journalists’ Knight Fellowships programme.

She holds a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of South Carolina, an MPA from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, and a diploma from Tbilisi State Conservatoire.

MOGENS BLICHER BJERREGÅRD,President of the Steering Committee of European Federation of JournalistsPresident of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) since May 2013. Member of the Council and Bureau of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), UNESCO since November 2014. Vice-president of the

International Media Support (IMS), board-member since April 2001.

As leader of EFJ, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård has the political responsibility of the development of the organization on behalf of their affiliates representing 300.000 journalists in 40 European countries. This includes both trade union and authors’ rights topics and media freedom related issues such as ensuring pluralism, ethical standards, access to information, protecting of sources, self-regulation of media and not least safety for journalists.

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From 2014, Mogens Blicher Bjerregård has represented Denmark in the council of IPDC. Their task is under the framework of UNESCO to combine the normative set up of standards with concrete programmes to contribute and strengthen pluralistic and free media, safety of journalists and capacity building.

TARMU TAMMERK,President of Organization of News Ombudsmen / Media Ethics Ombudsman of Estonian Public Broadcasting CompanyTarmu Tammerk is President of the Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO), the international group of media ombudsmen worldwide.

Since 2007, Tammerk has been working as media ombudsman at the Estonian Public Broadcasting Company ERR.

Tammerk has a journalistic and media career of more than 20 years. He is a founding member of the Estonian Press Council (a self-regulatory body to handle complaints from the public about media) and is one of the authors of the Estonian Code of Journalism Ethics.

He has worked for newspapers and radio stations in Estonia, and has been Estonian and Baltic correspondent for international news agencies – Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

Tammerk has been a speaker at training events on media self-regulation in the Baltic states, Russia, Moldova, Mongolia, China, Uzbekistan, as well as several countries in Central and South-eastern Europe.

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Summary and Conclusions


JOHANNES HAHN,Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, European CommissionJohannes Hahn has held various management functions in the different sectors of the Austrian economy and industry, including as CEO of Novomatic AG for 5 years. Between 1992 and 1997 Hahn was Executive Director of the Austrian People’s

Party Vienna. Starting in 2002, he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Party and Chairman in 2005. A Member of the Regional Parliament of Vienna from 1996 to 2003, he became Federal Minister for Science and Research in 2007.

He was a Member of the European Commission in charge of Regional Policy from 2010 to 2014. Since November 2014 he is a Member of the European Commission in charge of Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.

SPECIAL EVENT: Russian Language Media in the Eastern Partnership Region and Beyond –

A Sneak Preview of the Feasibility Study by the European Endowment for Democracy

JERZY POMIANOWSKI,Executive Director of European Endowment for Democracy (see page 19)

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JOHN O’LOAN,Co-Editor of the Feasibility Study Beginning his career as a journalist, John O’Loan has held senior editorial, corporate and content positions throughout his career, including; Managing Director Sky News; Executive Vice President News Corporation; Director International BSkyB; Managing Director National Geographic Channels; Director

Strategy NDTV; Director News Programming Network TEN; SVP Production and Content at STAR China and STAR India; Adviser to the Chairman of Al Arabiya and Middle East Broadcasting. He now works independently with media groups in Europe, India, the Middle East, Africa, the United States, Australia and Latin America.

He has been involved in media initiatives in many parts of the world including VOX Germany, Sky Italia and Sky TG24. Particularly in Eastern Europe and Russia, his media involvement has mainly been through Sky News, the National Geographic Channels and the Fox channels. He is a founding member of The Change Leaders community of practice, which springs from leadership development at the University of Oxford and HEC Paris. He is a contributor to their latest book “New Eyes” which examines media change evolution and leadership. He holds an RTS Award for services to journalism.

PETER POMERANTSEV,Author of a Chapter of the Feasibility StudyPeter Pomerantsev, Journalist and Author, Legatum Institute, London. He is a Senior Fellow and Deputy Director to the Legatum Institute’s Transitions Forum. He is also an author and documentary producer. His writing features regularly in the London Review of Books, Atlantic, Financial Times, Foreign

Policy and elsewhere, focusing largely, though not exclusively, on 21st century propaganda. Previously, Pomerantsev worked as a consultant on EU and World Bank development projects in the former USSR. His book about working as a TV producer in Putin’s Russia, “Nothing is True and Everything is Possible”, is published by Faber in 2015.

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NATALIIA LYGACHOVA,Founder and Chief-Editor of Telekritika (Ukraine)Nataliia is a Ukrainian journalist, media expert and author. She is a founder and chief-editor of the Internet edition Telekritika and head of board of NGO Telekritika as well as a board member of the International Renaissance Foundation. Nataliia was educated at the Kiev State University T. Shevchenko, where

she graduated from the faculty of journalism (1979-84). She is a member of the Commission of ethics as well as of NSZHU and NNPU. Nataliia holds numerous awards for her journalistic work including the international award of Internews Network “Leadership in mass-media” (2008) and the Gerd Butserius Prize “Free Press of Eastern Europe” (2011).

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