The MFRR Summit 2021 will start with a keynote presentation featuring leading policy-makers from Europe and the rest of the world exploring the key themes, topics and threats to media freedom. In 2020, Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency in the EU Commission has led the body’s work establishing a robust mechanism by which the rule of law can be protected across the EU and looking at how European democracy can be protected and future-proofed, through the European Democracy Action Plan. Vice President Jourová has recorded a short introduction for the summit that will introduce the keynote session. While the MFRR functions in EU Member States and Candidate Countries, its work is not detached from the wider world. In fact, many of the trends the MFRR has documented in Europe can be seen further across the globe. Irene Khan the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression will join us live to offer a worldwide view of media freedom, threats to journalists and trends that may make their way to Europe.
As part of this keynote session, ECPMF will premiere a short documentary film featuring at-risk journalists, media workers and whistleblowers that the MFRR has worked with to give a snapshot of the media freedom environment in Europe. Filmed remotely during lockdown, these interviews give a continent-wide picture of the lived experiences of those working to challenge power, inform the public and strengthen European democracy.
