Eastern Partnership Media Conference to focus on economic sustainability, donor support

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.13

Trend:

"The Eastern Partnership Media Conference 2019: Business and Sustainability" will take place in Riga, Latvia, on 13-14 November.

The conference is attended by Deputy Director General of Trend news agency, Head of the Baku Network Expert Council Elkhan Alasgarov and Deputy Director General of Trend News Agency Lina Vaitkeviciene.

Organized by the European Commission with the support of the European External Action Service and the Government of Latvia, it will bring together about 100 media professionals, media development organizations and donors from the six partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine) and the European Union.

The conference follows up on the 2nd Eastern Partnership Media Conference, which was held in Kyiv in 2017 and identified economic sustainability as a key challenge faced by media professionals across the region.

The Conference will be opened by Mathieu Bousquet, Head of Unit for Georgia, Moldova and Neighbourhood Cross-border Cooperation at DG NEAR, European Commission; Radoslaw Darski, Deputy Head of Division for Eastern Partnership , regional cooperation and OSCE at the European External Action Service; and Andris Pelšs, State Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The first working session will outline the findings of a comprehensive media needs assessment study commissioned by the Commission and conducted in EaP countries.

Media professionals from each EaP country will then present case studies highlighting how their organizations developed successful business models and improved their financial sustainability.

The last session will give the floor to donors, who will discuss their actions in EaP countries and their strategies to address the diverse needs of independent media outlets in the region.

The conference will end with a wrap-up session summarizing the findings and recommendations of the event, which will contribute to shaping future media assistance in Eastern partner countries.

The Conference will be held at the Radisson Daugava Hotel on 14 November, with a kick-off event on the evening of 13 November at National Library of Latvia. Please note that only registered participants will be able to access the Conference.