Brussels, 12/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - Over 600 people from all regions of Europe and representatives of the European institutions are meeting on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 October in Brussels on the occasion of the first European conference on public communication, Europcom. The aim is to bring together public sector communicators from across Europe and from different levels of government in order to stimulate professionalisation, knowledge sharing and networking of information specialists. Europcom was created under the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, at an initiative by the Flemish and Walloon Belgian regions and the Committee of the Regions (CoR).
Organised at an initiative from the Belgian presidency and the Committee of the Regions, the conference will raise the question of what the 500 million EU citizens expect from European decision-makers and European professionals. The six key themes of the conference are: - communication on Europe, communicating in Europe, citizens' participation and commitment, sustainable communication, press and media relations, and the image and identity of authorities. Work will be opened by Rudy Demotte, Minister-President of the Wallonia region, Stavros Lambrinidis, EP Vice-President, and Mercedes Bresso, President of the Committee of the Regions.
In her welcoming address, Mercedes Bresso's stance is in favour of decentralised communication which must become one of the stakes of the new EU term of mandate. In order to enhance organisation of proximity communication, it is necessary to win over the public in the regions, Bresso said, going on to add that, in each member state, synergies must be developed between representatives of the EP and of the Commission, regional authorities and their associations. MEPs, CoR members, the presidents of the regions and the mayors must be able to find a base for communicating on Europe, she stressed. What could a joint strategic approach for communication on Europe and in Europe be? Should there not be reflection on a communication policy that federates these “Made in Europe” successes (Erasmus, regional policy)? Should one not go as far as to imagine that the EU might have a “Branding Europe” mark after the fashion of what is done for Europe's towns and regions? All these questions were put by Mercedes Bresso who felt that EU communication is in itself a political design. (G.B./transl.jl)