OSCE Media Freedom Representative to organize a conference in Moscow on Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Russia and the OSCE region
VIENNA, 21 October 2019 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, announced today that his Office will organize a high-level conference on media freedom issues, to be held in Moscow on 6 November. The conference on “Freedom of the Media and Safety of Journalists in the Russian Federation and the OSCE region: Challenges and Opportunities in the Digital Age”, will be organized by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The conference will debate four main topics: freedom of the media and media pluralism in Russia and in the OSCE region; the safety of journalists: new challenges and responses; “fake news”, disinformation: how to tackle them, including through Internet regulation, and international standards on freedom of expression; media self-regulation, fact-checking and the role of journalism, ethical standards and media literacy.
The conference will be opened by Representative Harlem Désir, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, who will both take part in a panel discussion with journalists.
“The conference will bring together representatives of diverse Russian media, including non-state independent media, media experts and representatives of the authorities and institutions of the Russian Federation, to discuss openly media freedom and media development issues, safety of journalists, regulations affecting freedom of expression, self-regulation mechanisms and issues related to disinformation and quality of information in the Russia Federation and the wider OSCE region,” Désir said. “It will be the first such conference organized by my Office in Russia with an open discussion between independent media and government representatives at the highest level.”
The conference will bring together about 200 journalists and representatives from the media and non-governmental organizations, together with international experts, policymakers and representatives of government institutions.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom