Brussels, 04/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The youth organisations of the European Youth Forum presented recommendations to the ministers of the Council of Europe responsible for media and communication services at the meeting in Reykjavik on 28 and 29 May for the first conference on the future of media and the internet. In response to an invitation from DG Human Rights and Legal Affairs at the Council of Europe, the European Youth Forum had organised a youth event before holding the ministerial conference, gathering about 40 young people from all over Europe to discuss a new notion of the media. In their recommendations, young people advocate equal possibilities to access communications technologies and services both as users and creators to be guaranteed as a fundamental right. They also consider it essential to mainstream media literacy at all levels of formal education to raise awareness and knowledge about the rights, responsibilities, opportunities and risks related to the use of new communications technologies and services. Education on copyright must also be given in order to make young people aware that, if all cultural and creative goods are to be accessible to them on the internet, the intellectual and creative work of artists must also be remunerated. Finally, user security needs to be guaranteed by securing that personal information and user history online are not the property of anyone else but the user him/herself. Common standards should therefore be developed regarding privacy settings and personal data protection.
Ministers and representatives of member states of the Council of Europe adopted an action plan after the conference fixing the broad outlines of future work by the organisation concerning the media and internet. They above all call for it to be assessed whether current norms on the freedom of expression and information, which apply to traditional media, must be extended to the new media and to access providers, or whether it is necessary to develop new norms. Auto-regulation is, they say, the best road to take in this respect, as for traditional media. Ministers also adopted resolutions on the new notion of media, critical internet resources, and the protection of freedom of expression and information with regard to anti-terrorist laws. They also called on the Council of Europe to take long term provisions for organising events on governance of internet at pan-European level. (I.L./transl.jl)