INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

MEDIA AND ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE:

CHALLENGES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

5 April 2016

Kyiv, Ukraine

Venue: Hotel “Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv”1, Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street

Ball room

AGENDA [DRAFT]

The conference is organized by the Council of Europe with the support of the Council of Europe projects “Strengthening Freedom of Media and Establishing a Public Broadcasting System in Ukraine”, “Reform of the Electoral Practice in Ukraine”, “Assistance to the Ukrainian authorities in reforming electoral legislation and in conducting constitutional reform”

09:30 – 10:00 Registration of participants. Welcome coffee

10:00 – 10:40 Opening remarksModerator: Mr. François Friederich, Head of the Division of Electoral Assistance and Census, Council of Europe

Mr. François Friederich, Head of the Division of Electoral Assistance and Census, Council of EuropeH.E. Jan Tombiński, Ambassador, Head of EU Delegation to Ukraine

Mr. Yuriy Artemenko, Chair of the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine [TBC]

Mr. Mykhailo Okhendovsky, Chair of the Central Election Commission [TBC]

Ms. Viktoria Syumar, Member of the Parliament, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on freedom of speech and information policy [TBC]

10:40 – 12:00 Panel 1: Media coverage of elections: international experience and Ukrainian contextModerator: Mr. Yevgen Glibovytsky, Ukrainian media expert and former journalist [TBC]

Keynote speakers:

Mr. Jacob Mollerup, Council of Europe media expert

Mr. / Ms._____________, representative of foreign media regulator [TBC]

Mr. Peter Wardle, expert of the Venice Commission

Mr. Bertrand Simon, Council of Europe media expert

Mr. Yuriy Artemenko, Chair of the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine [TBC]

Mr. Mykhailo Okhendovsky, Chair of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine [TBC]

12:00 – 12:20 Coffee break

12:20 – 13:30 Panel discussion 2: Unbiased coverage of elections – a challenge for

Ukraine?Moderator: Ms. Natalia Ligachova, Director of Ukrainian NGO “Telekrytyka” [TBC]

Keynote speakers:

Ms. Oksana Romaniuk, Executive director of Ukrainian NGO “Institute of Mass Information” [TBC]

Ms. Olga Aivazovska, Coordinator of the Civil Network “OPORA”

Mr. Oleksiy Koshel, Director of the “Committee of Voters of Ukraine”

Mr. Viktor Chumak, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, deputy chair of the

Parliamentary committee on prevention and combatting corruption [TBC]

Mr. Sergii Leschenko, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, chair of the sub-

committee on the issues of international cooperation and implementation of the

anti-corruption legislation of the Parliamentary committee on prevention and

combatting corruption [TBC]

Questions & Answers

13:30 – 14:30 Lunch

14:30 – 15:30 Panel 3: Legislative initiatives as possible solutionsModerator: Mr. Taras Shevchenko, Director of Media Law Institute [TBC]

Keynote speakers:Mr. Roman Golovenko, Lawyer of the NGO “Institute of Mass Information”

[TBC]

Mr. Taras Shevchenko, Director of the NGO “Media Law Institute” [TBC]

Mr./ Ms. ____________, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine (Media

parliamentary committee [TBC]

Mr. Oleksandr Chernenko, Member of Parliament, Co-Chair of the

Subcommittee on Elections and Referenda of the Parliamentary Committee on

Legal Policy and Justice [TBC]

Mr. Yurii Kluchkovskyi, President of Institute of Electoral Law [TBC]

Questions & Answers

15:30 – 16:00 Conclusions and closing remarksModerator: [TBD]

Ms. Viktoria Syumar , Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Chair of the

Parliamentary Committee of Freedom of expression and information policy

[TBC]

Mr. Mykhailo Okhendovsky, representative of the Central Election

Commission [TBC]

Ms. Olga Gerasymiuk, First Deputy Chair of the National Council of Ukraine

on TV and radio broadcasting

Mr. François Friederich, Head of the Division of Electoral Assistance and

Census, Council of Europe Representative of the Council of Europe