It all starts
with words...

Freedom is the foundation of modern societies, it leads to enhanced expressions of creativity, original thoughts, social development and an overall high quality of life. Free media are key to a healthy, equitable, free society. Journalists hold politicians and business people accountable, inform the public and provide a platform to share opinions and make sure minority issues are being heard.

MEDIA For FREEDOM Summit brings together people shaping the sustainable future of the media industry.

About the MEDIA for FREEDOM SUMMIT

Freedom is the foundation of modern societies, it leads to enhanced expressions of creativity, original thoughts, social development and an overall high quality of life. Free media are key to a healthy, equitable, free society. Journalists hold politicians and business people accountable, inform the public and provide a platform to share opinions and make sure minority issues are being heard.

MEDIA for FREEDOM SUMMIT brings together people shaping the sustainable future of the media industry.

MEDIA for FREEDOM SUMMIT (previously: the Press Freedom Conference) is a platform aimed to empower journalists to continue their work critically and independently, to secure freedom of speech, as a pillar of European democracies.
The third edition of the conference will be an online experience and will examine the role of media and press freedom in CEE countries in the new VUCA reality. At the first edition of the Press Freedom Conference in Bratislava, we discussed with representatives of the European Parliament, the Slovak government, publishers and journalists from all over Europe how to support journalists in fulfilling their mission, in critically reporting on reality and, above all, in maintaining journalistic independence. The second edition, which took place in Gdańsk, Poland was devoted to the challenges related to hate speech.

Let’s make sure journalists are empowered in perceiving their mission. Let’s make sure we live in a well-informed, truly free society, where truth prevails, and everybody has the right to speak-up, stand up for his values.

Meet our 2021 speakers

Věra Jourová

Vice President

European Commision
B. Bix Aliu

Charge d'Affaires

U.S. Embassy in Poland
Lech Wałęsa

Former President of Poland

Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Valdo Lehari Jr.

Vice President

European Newspaper Publishers Association
Stephen Brown

Editor-in-Chief

POLITICO
Emma Lacey-Bordeaux

Senior Director

CNN News Standards & Practices
Christophe Deloire

General and Executive Director

Reporters Without Borders
Maarit Jaakkola

Co-Director

Nordic Centre for Media Research
view all speakers

What will be discussed?

THE NEW REALITY OF MEDIA? WILL MEDIA FREEDOM PREVAIL?
Media being bought by politicians, oligarchs, steered by business. Journalists being pressured, intimidated, arrested and even killed. Is this the new reality of the world we will live in? Can we afford a world without free media, different opinions, a platform for discussion? Where would it lead us, us as individuals, us as a society, us as democracy?
SOCIAL (IR)RESPONSIBILITY? THE NEW ROLE OF MEDIA
Polarisation has become one of the most challenging phenomena of recent years, dangerous for the free speech, dangerous for democracy. A world triggered by tribal instincts, opposing views, hostility has become the new social and political norm. How can technology, media and social media lead the way out of this situation, how can they tackle the challenge?
How to secure the freedom of media? Financing and regulations
There is no free media without independent financing. Only a source of income for media, not related to governments or politicians, allows them to remain independent and fulfil the journalistic mission. How to secure the economical sustainability of the media business model? How to support the journalistic independence?
150
media experts from all over CEE
10
countries
30
speaker

Knowledge in a nutshell

4 hours of high-quality content available live at your desk at home. Get to know the newest market trends, challenges and where the industry is heading.

Networking

Meet the most impactful speaker who shape the future of the media industry and inspire the change. Exclusive QA sessions in the virtual networking rooms.

Learning and development

Key European decision makers answering most important questions, sharing experience and behind-the-scene knowledge. Make use of innovative workshops to upskill.

Get to know the trends

Be the first to know where the industry is heading, what are the key decisions to make and what the future will bring.

Our guests about freedom of media

Words have consequences, that is why it is very important to fight against hate speech, fake news.
James Shotter, Central Europe Correspondent, Financial Times
I beg the media to join the discussion on what this world should look like.
Lech Wałęsa, former President of Poland, Nobel Prize Winner
When we speak, we are heard.
Jerzy Owsiak, Founder, Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity
For me, the most important thing in prison was to keep on writing.
Deniz Yücel, Correspondent, Die Welt, Germany
Our events were attended by:
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Die Welt
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