Event 2011

Association of European Journalists Congress, 10-13 November 2011

The XLIX Congress of AEJ took place in ROMANIA, from 10th until 13th of November 2011, at Howard Johnson Hotel from Bucharest (capital of Romania) and it was held under the patronage of Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Event was organized by AZIR – Asociația Ziariștilor Independenți din România – Romanian section of AEJ its main theme was “Freedom and responsibility in mass-media. Ethics and professionalism for journalism facing all the new technology challenges.”

More than 20 sections of AEJ had representatives at the Congress. We welcomed participants from Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, U.K., Moldavia, Holland, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary and, of course, Romania.

From our generous sponsors we will mention Fundația Cherecheș Lucia, Dacia-Renault, Institutul Cultural Român (ICR), Primăria Sectorului 2 București, Ministerul Turismului și Dezvoltării Regionale, Galeria Dana – Iași, Artmark, Cotnari, Eurogama Invest and Radu Marinescu.

The Congress started from 11th of November with the visit of the well-known Dacia Renault factory (in Mioveni) and of the Bran Castel (built in 14th century). The whole concept of Dacia-Renault had been presented to the participants by Anca Oreviceanu – the young PR executive director of Renault Group. She answered a lot of interesting questions coming from participants.

General Assembly of AEJ took place the same day – 11th of November and it was run by Eileen Dunne, president of AEJ, and by Peter Kramer, secretary of AEJ. It was a full agenda containing important issues and debates related to the good functioning of the Association.

Whole day of 12th of November was dedicated to debates and presentations for the already mentioned main theme: “Freedom and responsibility in mass-media. Ethics and professionalism for journalism facing all the new technology challenges.”

Teodora Stanciu, president of AZIR, motivated choosing such a theme by presenting an universal accepted truth: new technologies are changing the face of journalism. One cannot say if either they are strengthening or they are weakening the power of media. The whole concept of media seems to erode itself in relation with Internet. Shall we still have rules of ethics? Shall we still appreciate a great cultural education for a journalist? What about lack of professionalism and ethics – who and how shall we punish them since we have so many communications tools?

First session of the debate was opened by the Congress honorary guests: Teodor Baconschi – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania and Dan Hăulică – Romania Ambassador at Unesco during 1990 and 2002 and Vice-President of Executive Committee of Unesco. Their presentations brought to the XLIX Congress of AEJ a high cultural and intellectual dimension. Teodor Baconschi pleaded for equilibrium between freedom and responsibility and Dan Hăulică placed rigorous and efficient journalism in a cultural space, praising this difficult and yet so full of responsibility occupation.

During next sessions of the debates, several speakers offered succulent presentations in relation with main theme. We will mention: Alexandru Lăzescu, President of Romanian State Television, Athanase Papandropoulos (Greece), Luca Niculescu, Chief-Editor at RFI Romania, Petru Grozavu (Moldavia), William Horsley (U.K.), Dogan Tilic (Turkey), Marina Dumitrescu (Romanian State Radio), Ioana Diaconescu (National Council for Studying Communist Security Archive), Vira Pidhayna (Ukraine), Kristina Hristova (Bulgaria), Andrei Aliaksandrau (Belarus). These sessions were moderated by Eileen Dunne (Ireland), Doina Jela (Romania) și William Horsley (U.K.).

All conferences generated animated debates about hot contemporary issues, about new-media, about independence and responsibility of the journalist. Questions and speeches coming from the audience (to be mentioned here interventions of Athanase Papandropoulos, William Horsley, Koos van Houdt, Joszef Martin, Giuseppe Jacobini) showed a real interest for a fertile and authentic dialogue.

At the end of the AEJ Congress, we showed a special movie – “Memoria ca formă de justiție” (Memory as a form of Justice), dedicated to Memorial Museum of Sighet (a former communist prison) founded by well-known writers Ana Blandiana and Romulus Rusan. (An exhibition of this Memorial was hosted at European Parliament in Brussels, in October 2011).

Main contribution in organizing the XLIX Congress of AEJ can be attributed to the young core of the Romanian Section of AEJ: Ioana Munteanu, Cătălin-Teodor Dogaru, Oana-Georgiana Enăchescu (secretary of AZIR). They were supported by the mature generation: Teodora Stanciu, Doina Jela, Marina Dumitrescu, Florin Eșanu, Ioana Diaconescu, Laura Ilica.

There was a permanent dialogue between Bucharest and Brussels, Bucharest and London, Bucharest and Dublin which contributed a lot to the success of the Congress. A special thanks must be offered to Mister Dan Hăulică – Honorary President of International Association of Art Critics – for his continuous and unconditioned support.

We want to thank all AEJ members who participated at the XLIX Congress of AEJ: Eileen Dunne (Ireland – president of AEJ), Peter Kramer (Belgium – secretary of AEJ), William Horsley (United Kingdom – responsible for „Media Freedom”), Athanase Papandropoulos (Greece – honorary president of AEJ), Diego Carcedo (Spain – honorary president of AEJ), Saia Tsaousidou (Greece - treasurer AEJ), Dogan Tilic (Turkey – vice-president of AEJ), Christos Trikoukis (Greece – vice-president of AEJ), Michel Theys și Ahmed Belhaloumi (Belgium), Zdenko Duka (Croatia), Vira Pidhayna (Ukraine), Tibor Macak și Juraj Alner (Slovakia), Andrei Aliaksandrau (Belarus), Eric Maurice (France), Kevin d’Arcy, Mike Springate, Firdevs Robinson, Jack Hanning, Jonathan Fryer (United Kingdom), Joszef Martin și Joszef Horvath (Hungary), Kristina Hristova (Bulgaria), Martin Alioth, Ailish O’Hara, Enzo Farinella, Andy Sheppard, Seosaimhin Ni Bheaglaoich, Donal Byrne și Simone Rapple (Ireland), Ioannis Kritsantonis, Natali Leka, Konstantinos Vranisti, Vasilis Arvanitopoulos, Patroklos Koudounis, Pepi Spiliotopoulou, Fotini Spiliotopoulou, Jeny Venizelou, Lampros Rodis, Nikoleta Tsitsanoudi, George Mallidis, Frida Bedaj, Pantelis Maravelias, Tatiana Bouritsa, Theodoros Spagadoros, Tsavdaridou Angeliki, Despoina Krithara, Maria Dendia, Maria Tsanaktsidou, Parthena Salia, Aikaterini Daskalopoulou, Androniki Skarveli (Greece), Koos van Houdt, Edward Figee și Ulrich Schroeder (Holland), Fernanda Gabriel (Portugal), Miloje Popovic (Serbia), Krzysztof Bobinski (Poland), Giuseppe Jacobini, Luisa Penzo, Tito Cheli, Vera de Luca, Massimo Vita, Enrico di Prisco și Antonino di Stefano (Italy), Nina Parfentie şi Petru Grozavu (Moldavia), Doina Jela, Ioana Munteanu, Cătălin-Teodor Dogaru, Marina Dumitrescu, Toma Roman Jr., Liana Ionescu, Ioana Diaconescu și Florin Eşanu (Romania) – and to assure all of them of our deepest feelings of brotherhood and solidarity.

Let us all meet safe at the L Congress of AEJ!

Teodora Stanciu

President of AZIR

Romanian Section of AEJ

Translated by

Cătălin-Teodor Dogaru

& Ioana Munteanu