Freimut Duve organizes conference on media in multi-lingual societies

VIENNA, 1 April 2003 - A conference on media in multi-lingual societies was held in Berne, Switzerland, on 28-29 March. It was organized by Freimut Duve, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and hosted by the Swiss government.

Journalists, experts, non-governmental organizations and government representatives came together to discuss the current working environment for the media in a multi-lingual environment.

"What we should focus on is not how language divides us but on what all of us are united by: and that is being a citizen of a country where we live. The key word here is 'citizenship'. Of course, all of us have different backgrounds, but as citizens we have a common responsibility, that to our home country," said Freimut Duve in his opening remarks.

At the conference, the situation of the media in several multi-lingual societies was discussed and reports on the current state of affairs in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Serbia, Moldova and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were presented.

The discussion showed that these five regions, although substantially different in their approaches to media in different languages, are often facing the same challenges. For example, media tend to address a specific language audience while failing to report on issues beyond this group. This is the case in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well as in Switzerland.

As a result of the conference, country-related recommendations will be developed and presented to the OSCE Permanent Council and the countries concerned. A special publication on this event will also be issued.