The Council of Europe is organising an international conference on “Freedom of Expression: still a precondition for democracy?” on 13-14 October 2015, in Strasbourg. The conference will be webcast.
The event will focus on three key topics:
The democratic rules when more than one fundamental right are in conflict;
The context of increased sensitivity in society;
How to integrate Internet in the current freedom of expression protection landscape?
The objectives are :
– to raise awareness and command the attention of member states, private sector and civil society about the Council of Europe historical role and responsibility as a guardian of freedom of expression in Europe, to show-case the Council of Europe acquis, notably the jurisprudence of the Court;
– to provide a forum for reflection and discussion on how to assess the impact of state action (legislative and non-legislative) on freedom of expression;
– to build European momentum for a continued and intensified dialogue between all actors, as an imperative for the realisation of freedom of expression at all times and contexts, including in times of crisis;
– to mark a decisive step towards strengthening Council o
f Europe collective action with other international organisations on promoting freedom of expression in Europe, based on the recommendations of the Secretary General’s report “State of democracy, human rights and rule of law in Europe” in particular the Europe-wide programme to support national mechanisms to protect freedom of expression.
More information about the conference can be found here.
This autumn, seven interviews will be published to coincide with the Conference. See the trailer here.
Participation
The freedom of expression Conference is open to Representatives of member States, Permanent Representations, members of expert committees MSI-JO and MSI-INT, Parliamentarians, ECtHR Judges and Registry Lawyers, Journalists, national ombudspersons, cartoonists, civil society including partner NGOs, Internet industry, academia and students; UNESCO; OSCE; EU.
Registrations are opened here
Source: Council of Europe
