Meliore/PS Media & Democracy Summit

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Join Project Syndicate and the Meliore Foundation live from Paris, where experts will discuss the biggest threats to free, independent media in Europe and what to do about them.

Speakers

Agenda

Moderator: Jo Coburn, Presenter
2:30 PMWelcome Remarks
  1. Bertrand Badré, Chair of the Project Syndicate Advisory Board and CEO and Founder of Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital
2:35 PMOpening Keynote: Free Societies Need Free Media
  1. Adam Michnik, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Gazeta Wyborcza
Session One: Without Fear or Favor
Without a vibrant media ecosystem in which journalists and publishers are free to pursue and report the truth, and where commentators can offer inconvenient opinions and cutting analyses without fear of reprisal, democratic accountability becomes an illusion. With democracies increasingly under strain, what will it take to protect and preserve this essential infrastructure?
2:45 PMPanel Discussion and Q&A with International Media
  1. Can Yeğinsu, Barrister, International Lawyer, and Deputy Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom
  2. Mariya Gabriel, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO
  3. Sevgil Musaeva, Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda, Journalist, and Media Manager
  4. Julie Posetti, Professor of Journalism and Chair of the Centre for Journalism and Democracy at City, University of London, and Director of the Information Integrity Initiative
3:25 PMBreak
3:55 PMKeynote: Media as a Pillar of Europe’s Democratic Future
  1. Věra Jourová, Former Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency
Session Two: The Accountability Business
For years, the type of serious journalism needed to ensure accountability in politics, business, and civil society has been under increasing strain, with many legacy institutions either closing their doors or being bailed out by oligarchs who are motivated by their own private interests or political agendas. Can a new model be found to sustain this critical public good in the 2020s and beyond?
4:05 PMPanel Discussion and Q&A with International Media
  1. Pierrick Judeaux, Director of Policy at the International Fund for Public Interest Media
  2. David Kardos, Advocacy Director at the Center for Sustainable Media
  3. Veronika Munk, Director of Innovation and New Markets at DenníkN
  4. Alessandra Orofino, Chair of the Board of the Meliore Foundation
4:45 PMBreak
Session Three: Unflooding the Zone
New technologies and changing business models were intended to democratize and disintermediate the media landscape, but their algorithms intended to maximize audiences seem mostly to have unleashed rage and a tsunami of mis- and disinformation. These are now threatening the shared factual basis upon which democracy depends -- a trend that AI could supercharge. What will it take to ensure that those acting in good faith can consistently cut through the noise to support a resilient information ecosystem?
5:15 PMPanel Discussion and Q&A with International Media
  1. Cori Crider, Executive Director of the Future of Tech Institute and Direct Tech and Society Programs at the Meliore Foundation and Senior Fellow at Open Markets
  2. Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Co-Founder and CEO of Rappler
  3. Christopher Wylie, Data Scientist and Whistleblower
5:55 PMClosing Keynote
  1. Tom Brookes, CEO of the Meliore Foundation

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What they are saying

  1. Many people here at the bank agree that this was the most professional looking, well moderated, and entertaining event we have supported or participated in... The speakers were top-level and highly knowledgable throughout, and the whole design was very slick.

    Dirk Heilmann
    Photo of Dirk Heilmann

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