prijava
SARAJEVO, May 11 (FENA) - The Spring Conference and General Assembly of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) was officially opened tonight at the Sarajevo City Hall.
EANA brings together leading news agencies from most European countries, including some of the globally most influential media, such as the French AFP, the German agency DPA, PA from Great Britain, AA from Turkey. FENA, as the only agency from BiH, has been a full member of EANA since 2017.
The host of the conference is the Federal News Agency (FENA), whose general director Elmir Huremović greeted the heads of European news agencies and wished them a warm welcome.
He reminded that FENA was supposed to host this conference two years ago, but it was postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us for the next two days, so I invite you to enjoy this beautiful space tonight, where we are hosted by the esteemed mayor Benjamina Karić, the youngest mayor in the history of Sarajevo," said Huremović.
He said earlier that this was the largest media gathering ever organized in Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of the number of participants and the influence of the agencies represented by EANA members. The main topic of the conference, which will bring together the directors general of the leading news agencies in Europe, is "Fact and Fiction in War and Pandemics".
EANA President Clemens Pig also greeted the gathering, saying that the conference was being held at a very challenging time, welcoming representatives of Ukrinform, Ukraine's news agency, and expressed hope that they would be convinced that they had full support and boundless solidarity.
"We not only share your concerns but want to ensure free information and the flow of information," Pig added.
He said history teaches us every hour that peace is priceless, and news agencies must now, more than ever, tackle an important task to ensure the truth is heard.
The patron of the conference is the City of Sarajevo, and the mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić, greeted the audience with a video message, saying that the City Hall, where the gathering was officially opened, defiantly shows that the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has always defeated evil and fascism.
"Times, laws and customs have changed, but Sarajevans are constantly and jealously guarding their community, their spirit of civility and hospitality," she said.
She added that she was pleased to host experts in words and pens - representatives of European news agencies, who were among the first to gain strength, courage and courage to move from the observatory of social events, bridging gaps and abysses.
"Sarajevo and BiH, which survived the horrors of war and the longest siege of a city three decades ago, are aware of the crucial importance of the role and mission of the media in the defense period, as well as today, in the years of building our society," said the mayor.
She reiterated that freedom of the media is the foundation of democracy and its lifeblood, and it is also one of the basic preconditions for the freedom of every human being.
The working part of the conference will be held tomorrow, and an extraordinary general assembly of EANA is planned for Friday, which will discuss the status of the Russian news agency TASS within the Alliance regarding Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the role of Russian media in that war.
(FENA) L. N.
