Diversities at the heart of COPEAM 26th annual Conference

COPEAM 26th annual Conference and 25th General Assembly were held in Split, Croatia, on 4-6 April 2019. The event, hosted by the Croatian Radio and Television HRT and with the support of Eni, brought together the broadcasters’ top managers from the Mediterranean basin, professionals of the audiovisual and cultural sectors and representatives of institutions and international organizations of the region.

On Thursday 4 April, following the COPEAM Steering Committee meeting, a projection of “A première vue” took place, devoted to the best short films of our associated cinema schools’ students.

The following day, participants met in the morning for the joint meeting of COPEAM Commissions, during which different cooperation activities were presented in the fields of Audiovisual Heritage, Cinema-Festival-Culture, Gender Equality, News Exchange, Radio, Television and Training.            

In the afternoon, each Commission gathered again in specific operational meetings, where attendants and COPEAM delegates discussed about ongoing projects and new proposals, and made recommendations for the upcoming activity year.

Saturday 6, following the official opening by Mr. Kazimir Bačić, Director General of HRT and COPEAM President, and Mrs. Jelena Hrgović, Deputy Mayor of Split, participants assisted to a plenary session structured as follows:

- A general introduction on “Cultural diversities in the Mediterranean Region: enriching factors in changing societies” by Nabil Al Sharif, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, followed by a showcase of best practices such as The Port of Diversity, which has made the Croatian town of Rijeka European Capital of Culture 2020; successful stories of integration presented by the Uninettuno Telematic University in the framework of the project NOI #senzaconfini, together for a better world; an insight on the role of audiovisual media authorities and the media monitoring activity in the field of diversities, by the President of the Moroccan Audiovisual Media Authority HACA.

- A round-table debate involving the representatives of the main radio and television Unions of Europe and Asia (ABU and EBU), Olya Booyar and Daniela Drastata, together with the executive director of the Media Diversity Institute of London, Milica Pesič. Moderated by the HRT Senior international correspondent Dragan Nicolić, the panel explored the topic of diversity from different perspectives.

Finally, COPEAM members took part in the General Assembly, in order to assess the Association’s annual activity and analyze the financial situation, and to adopt the Final Resolution of Split: a declaration of intent relating to the main topic of the Conference, which shall inspire the upcoming cooperation action within the network.

Take a look at the videos from the YouTube playlist "COPEAM 26th Annual Conference" to relive the most exciting moments of this wonderful event in Split.