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UK SECTION |
The AEJ is active across the continent
of Europe. Please visit its website, www.aej.org,
and check AEJ Newsletters
for information about what it is doing for its members |
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Lunchtime meetings 11 June 2012 Jacques Reland Senior Research Fellow,
Global Policy Institute, London
Metropolitan University 18 July 2012 Ian McCafferty Chief Economic Adviser to the Confederation of British
Industry 21 September 2012 Sir Sherard
Cowper-Coles Former UK Ambassador to Afghanistan, now
international business director at BAE
Systems 9 November 2012 Christopher Graham UK Information Commissioner The meeting with Misha Glenny, broadcaster, journalist
and author, scheduled for 15 June, has been postponed. We will announce
the new date as soon as possible. Meetings are usually held at the European Parliament’s London Office (Europe House, 32 Smith Square, SW1). The EP’s UK website gives details of its own events, of which visitors may be notified by email. You can see a list of our recent lunchtime guests in Past Events NEW! Brighton Declaration on ECHR
reform Do read our report of the Brighton Conference on reform of the European Court of Human Rights. William Horsley, who attended the conference, gives a calm and factual account of what happened. What was decided may not amount to much – certainly not enough to still the secessionist rhetoric of some British politicians. _______________________________ Reporting Europe Prize 2012 This prize is awarded by the University Association for Contemporary European Studies and Thomson Reuters. It honours excellence in reporting on the EU during the past 12 months, whether in print or on radio, television or internet. The winner of this year's prize will be announced at the award ceremony on 24 May at the Thomson Reuters Building, 18:30-20:30. If you would like to attend the award ceremony, please contact admin@uaces.org by 21 May giving your name and affiliation. _______________________________ Rory Peck Prize 2012 This prize is dedicated to the work of freelance cameramen and women in news and current affairs. Entries for this year's prize must be submitted by 11 June. The three awards are for news (10 minutes), features (60 minutes) and entries for the Sony Professional Impact Award (60 minutes). They must have been first broadcast or published online between 1 June 2011 and 31 May 2012. See further the Rory Peck Awards website. _______________________________ Charlemagne Lecture 2012 The British and Europe: Kidding ourselves or telling it like it is? is the title of this year's lecture, to be given by Sir Stephen Wall on 20 June at the House of Lords. Sir Stephen is a diplomat who served as UK Representative to the EU in 1995-2000 and took charge of the Cabinet Office's European Secretariat on his return to London. The event will be preceded by a reception startng at 17:15. Admission is free, but donations to Wyndham Place Charlemagne Trust, a charity, are welcomed. If you would like to attend, please use the application form. A ticket will be sent. AEJ anniversary debate To mark the AEJ's 50th anniversary in 2012, the European Parliament in
Brussels hosted a public debate on 8
May on Media
Freedom in the EU Member States. Speakers included
Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, EP
Vice-President Anni Podimata and Doris Pack MEP. _______________________________ International AEJ Congress 2011 Last
year's annual congress was held in Bucharest on 10-12 November. The UK Section joins other sections in
thanking the Romanian Section for organising a highly successful and
memorable event. The theme of the congress was “Freedom and
Responsibility in the Mass Media” (see AEJ in Europe). For a visual
record, see Photo Gallery:
Bucharest 2011. |
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World Press Freedom Day 2012 On 3 May,
the highly topical issue for the WPFD debate was "Strasbourg:
Journalists' Foe or Friend? Media Freedom and the Rule of Law in
Europe". Video coverage and other material is now available here. ____________________________________________ AEJ/European Parliament seminar A lively
debate was held on 8 May at the EP's Brussels premises on "Media Freedom
in the EU Member States". An account of the event, with links, has been
published on the AEJ's internatonal website, including a full report
by Krzysztof Bobinski of the AEJ's Polish Section. ____________________________________________ Don Hatwell Reporting
a Life, the autobiography of Don Hatwell, soldier, sailor, reporter,
editor, theatre critic, veteran AEJer and friend of many years' standing, was
published on 1 May 2012. Please turn to
page … ____________________________________________ Media visits to the European Parliament The
EP’s London Office has a small budget to offset some of the travel and
hotel costs incurred by journalists when visiting the European Parliament.
Only a limited number can be helped in this way, so you must first be invited
by the UK Office before seeking reimbursement (see website). _______________________________ About us The AEJ is an independent, self-funding association for journalists, writers and specialists in European affairs. The UK section is part of a Europe-wide network of some 20 national sections across Europe, with more than 1000 members in all. In the UK section, we arrange for leading newsmakers from across Europe to give briefings to us about once a month, over lunch at the office of the European Parliament in London. We also organise special events, such as seminars, from time to time. The AEJ offers journalists the chance to be part of a network of media professionals and experts on European issues. Membership can provide valuable mutual support for individual journalists (it is open to both UK and non-UK nationals). If you would like to join, please go to the Membership page. We are not tied to any institutional or political group but are recognised by the Council of Europe, the OSCE and UNESCO. Our goals are to advance knowledge and debate on European affairs and to uphold media freedom. Internationally, the AEJ has an active programme of professional activities and the annual AEJ Congress is a forum for debate on matters of common concern to journalists across the continent. A high priority is given to the AEJ's Media Freedom Project. AEJ Media Freedom Project The AEJ works to protect freedom of expression and independent journalism by bringing issues to the attention of governments and advising inter-governmental organisations on behalf of our members. The AEJ's Media Freedom Representative is William Horsley, a former BBC foreign correspondent and the current chairman of the UK section. Since the AEJ Media Freedom Survey in 2007 (Goodbye to Freedom?),
the AEJ has published Europe-wide surveys that reveal the erosion of press freedom
through physical assaults, wrongful imprisonment, oppressive laws, and
unacceptable political and commercial pressures. Our Bucharest Congress in November 2011 heard accounts of the
crumbling of press freedom safeguards in central
and eastern Europe, including Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania,
Moldova and Turkey. The AEJ is an observer at the Council of Europe. It actively supports
the ongoing efforts of UNESCO,
the UN Agency with a mandate to safeguard media freedom, to implement the draft
UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity
(text).
The AEJ Media Freedom Representative authored the OSCE's Safety of Journalists Guidebook
setting out the obligations of participating states to protect the security
of journalists, including those using the Internet. AEJ and the Council of Europe The AEJ takes part in the policy
work of the Council of Europe (CoE) on key
issues, including journalists' safety and the freedom of the Internet, as a
participant in the Steering
Committee on Media and Information Society. It
works on behalf of its members across Europe to hold the CoE and its 47
member states to their commitments on media freedom and freedom of
expression. The AEJ has challenged member states to put aside narrow state interests to better protect the lives and rights of journalists who work to hold power to account. To read further, please go to Media Freedom. Our campaigns and activities can be tracked on the News
and Media
Freedom pages of the international AEJ website. See also World Press
Freedom Day. |
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Home Blogs and Briefings Firdevs Robinson: Cyprus: One step forward, two steps back (May 2012) Please feel welcome to contact
our executive for further
information |
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