La storia

Sessioni Parlamento europeo

AEJ INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Place: Oviedo (Spain).
To be held at: Hotel Reconquista.
Dates: 5, 6 & 7th October

Organised by:
Asociación de Periodistas Europeos
Fundación Príncipe de Asturias

Thursday, 5th October

Arrival of all participants in Oviedo
AEJ Executive Committee Reunion
 

Friday, 6th October

AEJ INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

THE EU’s INTERNATIONAL DUTIES:
Journalistic power and responsibility

Programa:

 10:00.  OFFICIAL INAUGURATION

Vicente Álvarez Areces, President of the Principado de Asturias
José Ramón Álvarez Rendueles, President of the Fundación Príncipe de Asturias.

10:30. First Session. Europe, A Necessary Leader in the International Scene? Does the World Need an Influential Europe?

Among the turmoil of feelings that the 9-11 attacks left among Europeans, two of the most prominent were vulnerability and impotence. European citizens were confronted with the need to put up a united front but, above all, with the necessity of being able to have an influence and an impact ourselves.

The EU has 500 million inhabitants: double the population of the USA and four times that of Japan. It is the largest economy in the world, representing 30% of the global GDP. It is the largest global exporter of goods and services- both to developed and developing countries- and is responsible for approximately 50% of all the direct investment made in the world today. Europe is also the largest global donor of development aid, being responsible, for instance, for 70% of sanitary and health assistance in the world today. And last, but not least, Europe is, in quantitative terms, an authentic “diplomatic superpower”: there are 45.000 European civil servants destined abroad working for 3.000 diplomatic and consular missions, compared to the 200 missions and 12.000 civil servants which the US has abroad. But Europe often finds that it is unable to translate all this economic, diplomatic and cultural strength into a political influence.

The articles of the project for a European Constitution establishes the objectives of a European Common Foreign Policy in terms of the promotion of peace, prosperity and social well being of the peoples of the world, on the base of the values of respect, liberty, democracy, equality and the rule of law.

Meanwhile, the only dominant superpower of our day appears unable to guarantee global security on its own. The heightened violence in the Middle and Near East, nuclear proliferation in Asia, the catastrophes associated to failed states in Africa or what has come to be called the “new Latin American fracture” between populist governments and liberal democracies are some of the pressing challenges that the international community faces. Does Europe has its own vision of these conflicts and has it defined methods for their solution? Can Europe contribute a different approach to crisis resolution, and what responsibility to do so should it bear?

14:00.  Lunch

16:30. Second Session. European Journalists and Media  Before the International Crises of the 21^st   Century. Journalistic attitudes, rights and responsibilities when reporting distant conflicts.

The media construct truth, history, the narrative of facts and events, especially in the case of reports and news coming from distant conflicts. The words and images of the media give shape to an amorphous reality, determining the public’s opinion and understanding of the world beyond their immediate sight.

This being the case, the common saying that “truth is the first victim of war” must lead us to inspect the behaviour of our media in this type of situation. Is there a tendency among the European Media to “side” with one of the groups involved in distant conflicts? How must a journalist react when he encounters “patriotic pressures”? Is it possible for a journalist to preserve his independence against the line of the media outlet he works for has chosen?
Among the most persistent and reported “regions of conflict” in the European media, we find the Near an Middle East: What narratives determine the European view of this region and its conflicts?
A new and troubling phenomenon are rising accusations of Anti-Semitism in the media. Do these respond to a strategy to invalidate criticism of the Israeli government, or do we genuinely find cases of anti-Semitism in our media?
At the same time, we also see a rise of accusations of Islamophobia in news on the campaign that has come to be labelled as the “War on Terror” and the phenomenon of international terrorism. Is there a fear among journalists of being labelled as anti-Semitic or Islamophobic when preparing reports on the above subjects? What effect, if any, does this have on the way news is reported?
 

SATURDAY, 7TH OCTOBER

09:00. AEJ GENERAL ASSEMBLY