The event saw the participation of Press Council representatives participating in the project, Turkish Press Council Board Members, representatives from various media organisations in Türkiye, the UNESCO Regional Project Coordinator as well as experts who attended the meeting online.

“We attach importance to working harder to increase awareness of media ethics in the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, said Pınar Türenç, President of the Turkish Press Council, in her welcoming remarks. “Unfortunately, the Turkish media is going through a very difficult period. According to the Media Freedom Report 2023 that has just been published, Turkish journalists were brought to court for trial 563 times and 72 journalists were detained.”

The 3rd regional meeting of the press and media councils from South-East Europe and Türkiye was an opportunity for the press councils to share their experiences and best practices on issues related to freedom of expression and self-regulation mechanisms in the region, and to identify common challenges and opportunities. 

The financial sustainability and future of self-regulatory institutions, especially in the Western Balkans and Türkiye, were also discussed. Special attention was given to the case of Montenegro, where the state allocates funds for the operational costs of self-regulatory mechanisms through the Fund for Media Pluralism established within the Media Law (2020). 

During the meeting, Joshua Massarenti, Regional Project Coordinator Communication and Information (CI) Sector, UNESCO Antenna in Sarajevo, shared the current state of play in the implementation of the project “Building Trust in Media in South-East Europe: Support to Journalism as a Public Good”, which aims to foster free, independent and pluralistic media in the region in the digital age, in particular promoting ethics in the media and in self-regulatory mechanisms, through support to press and media councils in the region. 

The event also featured an online workshop on the UNESCO Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms through a human rights-based approach, launched in 2023. In particular, Ana Cristina Ruelas, Senior Programme Specialist UNESCO CI Sector, highlighted the guidelines' goal to safeguard freedom of expression and other human rights online, drawing on input from over 10,000 comments across 134 countries.

The 3rd regional meeting of the press and media councils from South-East Europe and Türkiye further discussed important legislative initiatives of the European Union to regulate digital platforms and support the media sector. Among these is the Digital Services Act (DSA), which will come fully into force in all Member States of the European Union in February 2024. The Digital Services Act aims to prevent illegal and harmful activities, and the spread of disinformation online, ensuring users’ safety, protecting fundamental rights, and creating fair and open online platforms. Michel Meillassoux, official representative of the French Ministry of Culture, presented France's approach to implementing the DSA as one of the leading EU countries in terms of actively seeking to regulate digital platforms. 

The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), another important legislative regulation - currently being discussed in negotiations between EU institutions and in its final stages - was also examined. Oliver Money-Kyrle, Head of European Advocacy and Programmes at the International Press Institute (IPI) in Brussels, shared his views on this EU legislation which aims at safeguarding media freedom, media pluralism and editorial independence and regulating issues, such as the transparency in media ownership, the protection of journalistic sources and against the unjustified removal of media content by Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), self-regulatory mechanisms governing editorial standards, as the benchmark for identifying reliable news media, among others 

The effects of artificial intelligence on journalism were explored in a key session, where Jorge Andrés Clarke de la Cerda, Strategic Advisor of the International Artificial Intelligence Research Centre under the auspices of UNESCO, discussed AI’s transformative impact and associated concerns.

Doğan Şentürk, Editor-in-Chief of Türkiye’s Fox News TV, presented on media ethics and press freedom in Türkiye. He expressed his worry about the lack of independency and impartiality in the country’s media. Moreover, he indicated his concerns not only about the absence of objective information, affected by the affiliation of media owners or managers with political parties and business organisations, but also about the censorship of the media and pressure on journalists, resulting in an increased number of threats, detentions and arrests.

In line with their joint Declaration adopted in 2021, the press and media councils from the region reiterated their strong commitment to strengthen media ethics in the digital ecosystem. The next regional meeting will take place next year in North Macedonia.