Greek-US journalism forum organised by ANA, BBG held at TIF: USA must help Greece, say journalists (video)
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Greek-US Journalism Forum organised by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) in cooperation with Voice of America and United States Agency for Global Media-ΒΒG began in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Sunday, in an auditorium within the US pavilion at the 83rd Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
The forum started with an address by ANA President and General Director Michalis Psilos and speeches by Interior Minister Alexis Charitsis and Deputy Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media Minister Lefteris Kretsos, as well as US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt.
Among those attending were Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris and former deputy foreign minister Yiannis Amanatidis.
The meeting focused on the collaboration of Greek and US journalists to strengthen relations between the two countries and improve the investment climate in Greece, as well as Greece’s role in Southeast Europe.
The forum aimed to enhance cooperation between journalists so that the media play an essential role in promoting opportunities for economic and business cooperation between the two countries, as well as in the wider Balkan region.
The selection of the venue shows the role of Thessaloniki as a “gateway” to SE Europe.
US journalists, correspondents in Greece, distinguished Greek journalists, representatives of the government and the political world, as well as businessmen and representatives of industry in northern Greece were invited to attend and speak at the forum.
Addressing the forum, Charitsis pointed to a need to highlight investment opportunities and provide reliable and objective coverage on geopolitical developments in the region, as well as promoting cooperation on cultural issues, which he said were very important for both Americans and Greeks.
“ Holding this forum to cement relations between the two countries on the level of communications is a very timely initiative, in my opinion, that meets an important need that we have in our country and the international environment generally,” he added, expressing the support of the Greek government to journalists and calling for the forum to continue.
The US ambassador, on his part, said that the US has confidence in Greece and that Washington supports Greece as a pillar of stability in the surrounding region.
“ The stronger Greece is, the better a partner it is to the United States,” he pointed out and expressing his excitement at some “ fantasic examples” of collaboration between US enterprises and Greek start ups.
He expressed conviction that “ together we can achieve our goals of security and prosperity” and repeated that the US puts great weight on energy projects. He said the US will continue to support Greece and make investments in the country as its economy enters a new phase, working with Greek businesses and seeking opportunities there.
Kretsos said that the media had to be viewed differently during the digital era, as an audiovisual form of communication, while this created a need to enhance digital skills and better train journalists.
“ We need these skills in order to have a new, better trained generation of journalists that can help restore relations of trust between the media and society, so that we have truly in-depth investigative reporting and the analyses on the future of journalism do not focus on the issue of fake news,” he said.
The ANA’s general director said that cooperation between the media in both countries must be strengthened and expanded “ with sincerity, with an exchange of views, without competitiveness and, chiefly, without fake news”.
“ The goal of enhancing cooperation demands mutual understanding but also strong networks, connectibility, digital applications and journalists – in both countries – that are able to contribute decisively to achieving this,” he added.
Source: ANA-MPA