Events of the Media Presidency

Foto © Annelien Geenen

“Media and information literacy is a set of critical skills that are needed in the 21st century to be resilient to harmful content.”

Adeline Hulin Unesco

Content with Conscience. Conference on the support of Influencers and Online Content Creators February 27, 2024

On Tuesday, February 27th, the ‘Content with Conscience’ conference highlighted influencers and online content creators. With a varied program of engaging speakers and panels, experts and policymakers had the opportunity to immerse themselves in this fascinating and relevant topic.

The evening before the conference, guests had the chance to meet during a networking dinner at Rooftop 58, the highest rooftop bar in Brussels. The dinner began with a welcome speech from our Secretary-General and was enlivened by a performance from Another String Quartet, which reinterpreted rock songs with a classical twist.

At the conference in Brussels, we hosted over 200 participants from 31 countries, including influencers, media professionals, and policymakers. Together with them, we focused on two questions: What is the role of influencers and online content creators in the media landscape, and how can they be supported in that role? Not only did experts speak, but influencers from various EU member states also shared their experiences and needs.

The following topics were addressed:

The role of influencers in the media landscape
Online hate speech and cyberbullying
Disinformation
The mental well-being of creators and their followers
Advertisers and responsible influencing
‘Kidfluencers’ and ‘sharenting’
The ethics of influencers
The role of online platforms

We also presented some existing examples of support in the EU.

The conference was organized to support the work in the Audiovisual and Media Working Party, and more specifically the council conclusions on the support of influencers and online content creators.

Today, influencers and online content creators are mainly viewed through an economic and commercial perspective. However, their influence on our society and youth extends much further. By highlighting the topic on the European agenda, the Belgian Presidency aims to inspire European member states and the European Commission to advance support for influencers and online content creators.

> Read the conclusions of the event.

“It’s all about support, empowerment and education.”

Eefje Depoortere influencer

Media Innovation Xchange. Conference on Digital Transformation and Media Innovation March 13-14,2024

Two weeks after the ‘Content with Conscience’ conference, we hosted a second media conference. In the impressive Royale Belge building in Watermael-Boitsfort, 232 experts and policymakers were invited to explore innovation and digitization in the media sector. 51 international speakers exchanged expertise on disinformation, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), gaming, and other themes. Among them were Chris Umé from Metaphysic.ai, Tom Rubin from OpenAI, Roberto Viola from the European Commission, and representatives from AI4Media, Video Games Europe, the European Broadcasting Union, and the media company EMG.

The first day of the conference ended with a networking dinner, followed by an interactive VR performance by the artist collective CREW. On the second day, we continued with themes such as data management, the role of public broadcasters and the ethical boundaries of innovation.

During the breaks, our guests could try out innovative games, including the successful Baldur’s Gate 3 from the Ghent-based game company Larian Studios.

In one of the final sessions, we presented the Flemish digital transformation plan for the media sector, to inspire the attending member states with the Flemish approach. The Flemish Minister of Media had the honor of both opening and closing the conference. After the conference, a meeting of Future Media Hubs took place at the same location. This international network of media organizations focuses on innovation through collaboration and knowledge sharing, aiming to enhance cooperation in practice. Flanders plays a leading role in this initiative.