The 68th session of the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) opened in Strasbourg today, under the auspices of EBU Member France Télévisions.

More than 200 top managers from a variety of public service media organizations within the EBU Membership took part in the first day of discussion, which is being moderated by Jussi-Pekka Ranenen, a TV news presenter with the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE).

Mr Rémy Pflimlin, President Director General of France Télévisions, welcomed the participants to the two day assembly at the European Parliament.

Delivering the opening speech, EBU President, Jean-Paul Philippot spoke about the fascinating challenges facing EBU Members, which range from the age of ‘hybrid broadcasting’ to dramatic changes for Eurovision technology. EBU Vice-President Claudio Cappon followed with a detailed report, as chairman of the EBU Audit Committee.

In the second session of the day, EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre briefed delegates on key EBU activities and  projects over the past year. The DG also showcased extracts from exceptional programmes produced by EBU Members, including:
 

•  WDR's programme Lieblingsstücke, which won the 2011 Radio Music Award, Prix Europa. Listeners were asked to name their favourite piece of classical music and say why the work was close to their heart.
   
• RTE on how villagers in Ireland collectively cleaned their town. The programme sought to motivate people to take pride in their local communities and realise their potential.
   
• Swiss and Belgian broadcaster covereage of the school bus crash in a Swiss tunnel. The collective response of SF (CH), VRT and RTBF (BE) ensured that story,. which attracted world interest received the exposure it merited.
   
• The first truly ‘digital Olympics.’ The BBC plans a cornucopia of multimedia coverage – innovation that sets public broadcasters apart and brings them closer to the audiences they serve.

The EBU DG also revealed that the Executive Board is establishng a ‘Vision2020’ project. The project will look at the evolution of technology, society, audience, business and public service broadcasting, in addition to the the EBU itself.  The plan is to offer Members ideas to help them build on their success and sustainable during the next decade. An EBU strategy should be available by the end of 2013.