Wagner-Hatfield

It has been a number of days now since the devastating passing of our friend and colleague Jean-François Furnémont. We at Wagner Hatfield are still processing it. Anyone who knew JF knew that he was a titan of media policy and regulation. He served as Director General of the Belgian CSA from 2003-2014, Vice-Chairman (2008-2011) and then Chairman (2011-2014) of the EPRA. As a former freelance journalist, he was also a great advocate of media freedom and independence and he authored several works on political science and audiovisual policy and media regulation. He was passionate about the role the media had in building a stronger society and a better future. He co-founded Wagner Hatfield, and hand-picked an international team of experts to contribute to the building of a new kind of consulting firm. Scattered across many countries, our in-person meetings were rare and precious, but they were marked by serious work and much good humour, animated conversations, as well as ever growing initiatives for new collaborations. Under JF’s leadership, we joyfully collaborated on challenging and complicated projects from Europe to Africa and America, from Tunisia to Ireland, from Morocco to the Balkans, from Georgia to Moldova and Ukraine. JF was more than a founding partner, more than a colleague, more than a leader, he was a true dedicated Atlas, a caring and considerate steward of the company. He was our dear friend and his death has come as profound shock to each of us and we must take time to mourn him. Then, we will continue to try to make the world better by championing media freedom and media plurality through fair and effective media policy and media regulation, which he brilliantly called fine tuning of democracy, seeking “liberty more than power, and power only because it can lead to freedom” (as one of his favourite authors, Marguerite Yourcenar, said). And, we will do it with the passion, dedication, values and intellect that were the hallmarks of Jean-François. WH Partner Asja Rokša – Zubčević WH Associates Marc Janssen Martina Chapman Chris Banatvala Léa Chochon Véronique Collinet Louise Doorman Tanja Kersevan François Jongen

A few month ago the Council of Europe published a study authored by our Partner Asja Roksa - Zubcevic. A few days ago, the findings of this study have been discussed at an event organised by the Council of Europe Office in Sarajevo, and Asja had also the opportunity to be interviewed by Jelena Kalinic. Asja cooperated with her former colleagues from Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH (CRA) in the preparation of the study “Towards coregulation of harmful content online in Bosnia and Herzegovina - A study of European standards and co-regulatory practices for combating harmful content online”. The study focuses on the modalities for the establishment of a functioning and comprehensive cooperative co and regulatory mechanism, particularly considering the Digital Services Act (DSA), especially important for countries with EU candidate status. The link towards the study can be found at the very end of the interview. https://bit.ly/4bGnsdk

Today, WH is so proud of our Partner Asja Roksa - Zubcevic and our Associate Martina Chapman, for having authored this outstanding report on the new concept of "media freedom literacy" (MFL) for the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. MFL is defined by the report as "the knowledge and skills that enhance citizens ability to understand and value the democratic functions of the media and other information providers, online and offline, and the importance of a pluralistic, well-functioning media landscape serving the public interest, including critical evaluation and ethical production of information and media content". A must read for all those who believe in the importance of both media freedom and media literacy for the health of democracy, and who are ready to work to foster them in these troubles times. https://lnkd.in/e2Sn2669

One of the latest studies authored by Asja Roksa - Zubcevic, Partner at Wagner-Hatfield, is finally published. Asja cooperated with her former colleagues from Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH (CRA) in the preparation of the study “Towards coregulation of harmful content online in Bosnia and Herzegovina - A study of European standards and co-regulatory practices for combating harmful content online”, produced with the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe. The study focuses on the modalities for the establishment of a functioning and comprehensive cooperative co and regulatory mechanism, particularly considering the Digital Services Act (DSA), especially important for countries with EU candidate status. The publication of the study was supported within the framework of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PRO-FREX)”. The study available at https://bit.ly/3RVYcbp