The International Conference on “Protection of children in audiovisual media” was held in Tirana, organized by the Audiovisual Media Authority. The conference was organized to take place in three panels where experts from Great Britain, Belgium, Germany as well as professors and experts in the field from the country and the region held their speeches. The main speaker at this conference was the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Ms. Teresa Ribeiro.
The Chair of the Audiovisual Media Authority, Armela Krasniqi in her speech, while thanking the participants and the AVMSs, assured that AMA will continue to regularly and strictly monitor the implementation of the provisions deriving from the Broadcasting Code and the strengthening of penalties for the AVMSs, which violate the provisions of this code on child protection.
“The contribution to child protection is the most essential contribution granted to a society and its future. We are all aware that the influence of audiovisual media on children can lead to aggressive behavior, generate fear, give them violent heroes to follow, and above all, it often implies the belief that violence is a social norm. At a time when technological development is facing us with multidimensional challenges, the duty of the media is above all to protect the highest social interests through education and protection of children “, said Mrs. Krasniqi.
The Chair of AMA, Mrs. Krasniqi, announced that based on AMA’s strategy for 2021-2023, the Broadcasting Code will be revised.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, stated that “the right to freedom of expression, especially that of children, emphasizes once again how important it is to protect human rights. Congratulating the AMA for organizing the conference, Ribeiro said that “I have just concluded the media conference for Southeast Europe, which this year was welcomed in Tirana. This conference on journalism in this time of crisis serves to explain how important journalism is to the public and as a key pillar of our democratic society, this conference provided very important opportunities to talk about media freedom and freedom of expression in the region”.
The conference was organized in three discussion panels. The first panel discussed the regulatory process and child protection. The General Manager of PA Media Group in the United Kingdom, Clive Marshall, the Executive Director of KSF in Germany, Stefan Linz and the Founder and Director of Wagner-Hatfield (Belgium) Jean-François Furnémont, shared the experiences of their countries in this regard. To the discussion Ms. Elma Tershana further contributed with her presentation of the studies and findings of the observatory for children’s protection. The second panel was dedicated to how needed media education has become nowadays. Panelists Remzi Lani, from the Albanian Media Institute, professors Iris Luarasi and Elvin Luku, expert Emiliano Kaziaj, expert of the Supreme Council RTUK Yusuf Demirtas, emphasized the importance of media education for children, as a challenge for democratic societies. The third panel discussed on advertising and promotion for children. The UNICEF Representative Mr. Roberto De Bernardi, Professor Alban Tartari, Montenegrin expert Jadranka Vojvodic, representative from the Agency for Child Protection Anila Bregu discussed the impact of advertising and promotion for and on children. In their view, there is a need for increased interaction between all stakeholders that operate and have a crucial role in this field.
This conference is an added value and a good momentum of reflection for all stakeholders involved: the media, the society and the community, on their role in educating minors.
