The safety and protection of new media operators will come under scrutiny at a special session co-organized by the EBU at the 2012 Internet Governance Forum (IGF), in Baku. 

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European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes will join EBU President Jean-Paul Phillipot in addressing the opening of the seventh IGF, which runs from November 6 - 9.

On day two of the IGF the EBU and partners will stage an Open Forum titled ‘Safety Of Online Media Actors As A Precondition For Media Pluralism And Freedom Of Expression’.  President Phillipot will be a panellist at this seminar, which is cosponsored by the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and UNESCO. 

The furtherance of media freedom is a key EBU commitment brought to prominence by May’s Eurovision Song Contest, in Baku, which put the plight of Azeri media contributors in the international spotlight.

The unstoppable surge in new media has raised fears for the security of media professionals and participants whose status differs from that of ‘traditional’ journalists.

In this context, IGF 2012 will ask:

• What are the safety issues?
• Who needs to be protected and how?
• How far do international tools, standards and best practices apply, and are they effectively implemented?
• Do professional rules and ethics of traditional media apply to non-traditional online media actors? If not, how do we protect the unprotected?
• What is the way forward?
• What can be done by states, civil society, the media industry and international organizations?

Register for the IGF here:  www.intgovforum.org.