OSCE Conference on Media Freedom - Beč, 2024.

Our first- and second-year students, Matea Bekavac and Marijeta Babik, participated in the Conference on Media Freedom in the OSCE Region, held on November 22, 2024, at Palais Berg in Vienna. The prestigious conference aimed to foster dialogue and find solutions to key challenges in the field of media freedom and democracy in the digital age. The event brought together leading journalists, academics, industry experts, young professionals, and students from across the region.

The conference program began with opening speeches by the organizers and prominent participants, including Carole Cadwalladr, an award-winning investigative journalist from The Guardian. This was followed by three main panels addressing current challenges and the future of media and journalism.

The first panel, titled "Strategies and Partnerships for Promoting a Safe and Encouraging Environment for the Media," discussed journalist safety, especially for women, referencing the tragic recent murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, as well as the protection of journalists in conflict zones and online spaces.
The second panel, "Access to and Visibility of Information of Public Interest: How to Create Healthy Online Information Spaces," focused on combating misinformation in post-truth societies and the role of artificial intelligence in promoting reliable information.

The conference concluded with the panel "Youth, Information, and the Future of Media," which gathered experts and young people from the region to discuss innovative ways to reach the new generation through media. Group projects and conclusions from a preparatory workshop held the day before at the Hofburg were presented during this panel.

Our students also participated in the aforementioned preparatory workshop Youth and Information. Led by Professor Alex Grech from the University of Malta, the workshop gathered young people to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the digital age, based on Professor Grech’s updated work — The Youth and Information Manifesto. Through group activities, participants developed innovative solutions and ideas to promote responsible online behavior and to shape a fairer digital environment.