Independent press councils to meet in conference

Forty delegates from 20 countries will be in Malta for the fourth annual conference of the Alliance of Independent Press Councils of Europe (AIPCE).

The conference, sponsored by HSBC Bank Malta, is being held at the Fortina Hotel between tomorrow and Sunday.

Delegates include press ombudsmen, university department heads and press council leaders from across Europe and beyond to discuss various issues relating to the media, particularly with regard to self-regulation and independence.

Distinguished guests attending the conference, which is being organised by its founder member the Malta Press Club, include the acting chairman of the UK's Press Complaints Commission, Prof. Robert Pinker and Olle Stenholm, Sweden's press ombudsman.

The special guest is Nebosja Ristic, the co-ordinator of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) in Serbia and a former prisoner of Slobodan Milosevic's regime.

"A year of work has gone into preparing for this AIPCE Malta meeting, which will undoubtedly provide an excellent forum for an exchange of views on the best ways to promote self-regulation for the media and how to defend its independence," said conference co-ordinator Joe Mifsud.

The Alliance of Independent Press Councils of Europe is a loose-knit group whose members believe in the application of self-regulation and independence from government both on a regional and national level.

"The alliance was formed so journalists from across Europe could cooperate with each other through the exchange of views and information on a regular basis, but without the need for formal bureaucracy."

A meeting is held every year to discuss matters of mutual interest.