Organizers of the first EBU Knowledge Exchange (#KX13), in Barcelona, on 30 September, are urging public service media professionals to sign up for the event quickly, as it is almost fully subscribed.

Interest in this unique conference, which is free to attend and unites the worlds of academia and media for a day of debate and forward thinking, has been notably high among researchers and media scholars across Europe.

Knowledge Exchange 2013 has been jointly set up by the EBU’s Media Intelligence Service (MIS) and the Departament de Comunicació Audiovisual i Publicitat de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), which is also this year’s host.

Head of MIS, Dr Roberto Suarez Candel, said interested EBU Members should register as soon as possible to guarantee a place.

“Registrations have been rolling in fast, which is really pleasing for all of us behind Knowledge Exchange”, he said. “We have tried to put together an appealing programme targeted at covering the issues that media and research professionals are genuinely interested in pursuing, and the level of interest suggests we have succeeded.”

Confirmed keynote speakers include the EBU Media Director Annika Nyberg-Frankenhaeuser and TV programming expert, Professor Emili Prado, of the Departament de Comunicació Audiovisual i Publicitat at UAB. They will contrast their views on what the future holds for public service media, and explore the extent to which PSM will remain an indispensable component of European societies.

Other highlights include a panel debate on what steps are necessary for PSM to connect better with audiences.

The panellists, which include top European researchers, are: 

• Prof. Rosa Franquet – from the Dept. de Comunicació Audiovisual i Publicitat, UAB
• Prof. Barbara Thomaß – from the Institut für Medienwissenschaft, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Marko Ala-Fossi – Adjunct Professor at the School of Communication, Media and Theater, University of Tampere
• Klaus Unterberger – Director of the Public Value Competence Centre, ORF

In addition, Spanish EBU Member RTVE will set up a showroom to present its latest technological developments and new media productions and applications. The day will close with a networking session where participants can meet and share information and ideas.

For more details or to register to attend EBU Knowledge Exchange 2013 click here.