Connect.Euranet at the Euranet Conference 2012: A new generation of journalists
Channel: Euranet
Date: 2012-03-26

50 young Europeans and students attended the Euranet Conference 2012 on the topic of "European journalism in crisis". Students hailed from IHECS Brussels, the European Youth Press and the Universities of Barcelona, Vigo, Brussels, Örebro, Tampere, Bonn, and Warsaw.
 
The philosophy of the Euranet Agora was to give students and young Europeans an opportunity to debate EU matters directly with senior EU representatives. In order to play a role between the institutions of Europe and its citizens, Euranet brought young Europeans and young journalists to Brussels to interrogate European politicians on how they plan to boost the trust between Brussels and EU citizens in these challenging times.

Janusz ADAMOWSKI, Dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Political Sciences at the Warsaw University, underlined that "we should prepare a new generation of young journalists, very well educated and trained to look at all the problems not just from a national but also from a pan-European perspective. We should prepare new and very innovative programs of journalism studies including all the important European values." He added that this new education project should naturally involve the best radio broadcasters in Europe and recommended that Euranet should play an essential role.
 
Jacek SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, MEP, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, added "What we need in order to cover this communication gap is obviously good journalists who are aware of their missions and well-prepared in their professional profiles. It means that in the best case their studies should be conducted from the very beginning in a European format, which means multinational professors and multinational students working together."

The conference, opened by Isabelle DURANT, Vice-President of the European Parliament, was attended by more than 100 guests, including senior EU representatives, MEPs, think tanks and journalists. A particular focus was the important role that Euranet is currently playing in the emergence of cross-border EU news coverage.
 
In her opening speech, Mme Durant explained that "it is very important to speak of European journalism in the context of the crisis that the European Union is currently experiencing. Speaking about media is more important than never. I think we need absolutely a European public space and to build it is a big challenge."
 
The Agora, held at the European Parliament on March 20, came against the background of the economic crisis, and of a growing public disenchantment towards EU issues. This has led many media outlets to reduce their presence in Brussels. The declining number of Brussels correspondents illustrates the crisis in EU journalism which every year seems to be less inclusive and more focused on narrow national angles.