Stateless nations and media
Is a national communication agenda possible?
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Aims / Scope:
Political and social movements of stateless nations face a double communication challenge in order to spread their vision and aims to society.
Firstly, they have to fight the distorted image that mainstream state-level media often give of them, sometimes associated with xenophobia, terrorism or obscurantism.
Secondly, these movements lack the capacity of setting up their own communication agenda. Usually, the metropolis, that is, state-level media and powers, sets up the communication agenda in stateless nations, even in the local and regional media. In the last decade, globalization has brought a global agenda that makes it more difficult for stateless nations to set up their own communication agenda.
Any movement, social or political, that wants to have an impact on society needs access to media that will promote its ideology, aims and prospects as fair as is possible. That is the big challenge for the political and social movements of stateless nations.
The aim of this conference is to analyse the reality of both the media and the communication agenda in several European stateless nations from different angles:
- Stateless nations, self-determination and cultural and linguistic rights in mainstream media
- Challenges for a regional communication agenda in some European stateless nations: Basque Country, Catalonia, Corsica and Wales
- Could be social media be an ally?
- Impact of globalization in current communication agendas and information management.
- Strategies to develop an own communication agendas in stateless nations.
Welsh MEP Jill Evans will host the conference that will be co-organised by Ezkerraberri fundazioa and Center Maurits Coppieters.
European Parliament, Thursday, September 28th, 15,00 -18,30 h, Petra Kelly room ASP 1G3
Programme:
15:00 h - Opening remarks
MEP Jill Evans
15:10 h - Introductory lecture: ‘Stateless nations and media in Europe. A general vision’
Günther Rautz, Secretary General of MIDAS, The European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages
Mr. Rautz will give a general overview of the situation of the media on minority and regional languages in Europe which could help to describe the context of the conference: diffusion, impact, business models, private & public media, relationships with main media, challenges, good practices...
15:50 h - Panel 1: Is a national communication agenda possible?
- Edorta Arana, University of the Basque Country,
- Ifan Morgan Jones, Bangor University,
- Germà Capdevila, editor of Esguard digital weekly magazine and president of APPEC the association of editors of Catalonia
- Olivia Martina Dalla Torre and Prof. Françoise Albertini, University of Corsica
Panellist will discuss the situation of media in each of their nations and the challenges of setting up a national communication agenda.
17:00 h - Panel 2: How can social media help to push forwards our national agenda?
- Pilar Kaltzada, Basque communication expert
- Rocío Castro, Galician journalist
Panellist will explore the possibilities that social media could offer a way to create a national communication agenda.
17:40 h - Panel 3. How to address to a bilingual/multilingual society?
- Jordi Sebastià, Former MEP and journalist,
- Beatriz Zabalondo, University of the Basque Country
Most of the Stateless nations have their own language, that is different from the state's official language and a lot of them are in a minority situation. Panellist will discuss strategies that could help deal with that bilingual/multilingual situation and, at the same time, normalize the minority language.
18:20 h - Closing remarks
Practical notes:
There will be interpretation in the official languages of the EFA-Greens group and from the Basque, Catalan, Galician and Welsh.
