Left to right: Erik Antaranyan (Head of International Affairs, Armenian Public Television, APT),

EBU Vice-President Claudio Cappon, EBU Head of Member Relations David Lewis.

Yerevan, Armenia

EBU Vice-President Claudio Cappon has urged Armenian officials to support Armenia’s public service broadcasters in their need to modernize production facilities and digitize their archives.

On a two-day visit to the Armenian capital, Mr Cappon also offered EBU expertise, training and strategic consultancy through the EBU Partnership Programme to strengthen Armenian Public Television (APT) and Armenian Public Radio (APR) – which are considering a merger.

Mr Cappon, who supervises the Partnership Programme on behalf of the Executive Board, had talks with Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan and Arman Saghatelyan, Press Secretary to the Armenian President. Accompanied by EBU Head of Member Relations David Lewis, who manages the Partnership Programme, Mr Cappon also had a brief impromptu meeting with Education and Science Minister, Armen Ashotyan.

Mr Cappon stressed the core values of public service media, adopted unanimously by all EBU Members a year ago, and the importance placed by the European Union on EU candidate countries having strong, independent and sustainable public broadcasters.

The Vice-President’s presence in Yerevan coincided with a visit to Armenia by European Commissioner Stefan Füle, who last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot to strengthen public service media in the Western Balkan countries preparing for EU membership.

Mr Füle has expressed the hope that a similar agreement, and associated EU-funded action plan, can be forged with the EBU to strengthen public service media in the so-called Eastern Partnership countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

In a speech delivered in Yerevan on 10 July, Commissioner Füle said Armenia’s broadcasting legislation should be modernized to meet recommendations by the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE. (The full text of Mr Füle’s speech may be read here.)

On 11 July, Mr Cappon and Mr Lewis gave a three-hour seminar on the EBU and its services to staff from APT and APR. They urged both Members to become more active in the Union, for example by contributing to the Eurovision news and Euroradio music exchanges.

The new Director General of APT, Margarita Grigoryan, whose appointment was confirmed last week, thanked the EBU delegation for its visit and looked forward to fruitful cooperation.

APT and APR joined the EBU in 2005 after the Union extended its eligibility criteria for active membership to include national broadcasters in countries outside the European Broadcasting Zone which are members of the Council of Europe.

 

On the pictures, left to right:

- Erik Antaranyan (Head of International Affairs, Armenian Public Television, APT), APT Director General Margarita Grigoryan, Karan Badalyan (Adviser to the Chairman, Public Radio and Television, PTVR), EBU Head of Member Relations David Lewis, [interpreter], EBU Vice-President Claudio Cappon

- Erik Antaranyan (see above), DL, CC, Armenian Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan

- DL, CC, Erik Antaranyan and Arman Saghatelyan, Press Secretary to the Armenian President

- Erik Antaranyan, CC, DL, [interpreter], Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan

- Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan (centre), APT Director General Margarita Grigoryan