On 17-18 November 2016 the second Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights will be held in Brussels. The 2016 Colloquium on Fundamental Rights will focus on"Media Pluralism and Democracy". First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Commissioner Günther Oettinger, and Commissioner Jourová will lead discussions with a wide range of experts on the key role in democratic societies of a free and pluralist media, and in particular digital media.

CMDS Director Marius Dragomir is attending the event along with Michael Ignatieff, the President and Rector of Central European University, who will be a keynote speaker at the event. Marius will discuss the measures needed to protect media freedom and to ensure the independence of the media from censorship. #media4democracy

The Colloquium will bring together, in an interactive roundtable discussion, EU institutions and Member States, NGOs, journalists, media representatives, companies and key academics and international organisations to reflect on a wide range of topics. These include, among others:

• how to protect and promote media freedom and independence from state intervention and from undue political or commercial pressures;
• how to empower journalists and protect them from threats of physical violence or hate speech;
• the role of media and ethical journalism in promoting fundamental rights;
• how can a pluralistic media environment foster political debate on crucial issues for democratic societies.