The 17th EBU Radio Assembly will take place in Rome on 28-29 April, kindly hosted by Vatican Radio, a founding Member of the EBU. Vatican Radio, founded in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. The Assembly will bring together Members of the EBU Radio community from 37 countries in what is widely acknowledged as the public service forum for discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the oldest public broadcast medium. 

This year's agenda has been specifically set to explore the issues and interests currently on the minds of the EBU Radio community at a time when technological evolution accelerates, while funding slows down. Speakers and professional discussions will look at where the European dual media system is heading, strategies to get the most out of new technologies and how to weather the financial storm rattling the windows of public radio. A special session on the final day will discuss how radio can tap into the formidable power of social media and be part of the indisputable social, political and commercial phenomenon that they have become. 

This is also an election year, and the new Radio Committee will be chosen on Friday, April 29.