On September 8-10 in Aghveran (Kotayk region) the seminar, “The Role of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in the Fields of Visa Facilitation and Media Reforms”, was held. The event was organized by Yerevan Press Club with the assistance of Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and was attended by representatives of Armenian NGOs and media, experts from Belarus, Moldova, Poland and Ukraine.
The theme of the report of Joanna Fomina, representative of Stefan Batory Foundation of Poland, was the implementation process of EaP CSF recommendations in the field of visa facilitation. Stepan Grigorian, Head of Analytical Center for Globalization and Regional Cooperation, referred to this issue from the Armenian civil society’s perspective. In his speech, YPC President Boris Navasardian talked about the prospects of strengthening ties between EaP CSF and NGOs in the field of visa facilitation.
Nadine Gogu, Head of Independent Journalism Center of Moldova, introduced to the CSF recommendations’ implementation process in the field of media reforms. The same issue from the aspect of Armenian civil society was presented by Nouneh Sarkissian, Executive Director of Internews Media Support public organization. Andriy Kulakov, Program Director of Internews-Ukraine, told about the opportunities of fostering the CSF and NGOs cooperation in the media field. Yuras Karmanau, representative of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, discussed with the seminar participants the media situation in Belarus.
The Editor of YPC Weekly Newsletter Elina Poghosbekian presented the study on “Media Landscapes of Eastern Partnership Countries”, which will soon be published. The overview describes the media situation in six EaP countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, ranging from media legislation to journalistic education, from print media and broadcast market to the development of new media, etc. The joint study was prepared by Yerevan Press Club and partner organizations from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and was supported by Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The presentation of the “Media Landscapes” will be held in Warsaw on September 28, 2011 ahead of the Eastern Partnership Summit.
