Switzerland takes over chairmanship of the network of French-language media regulators
At the conclusion of the fifth conference of the Network of Francophone Media Regulators (Réseau Francophone des Régulateurs des Médias, or REFRAM for short), the Federal Office of Communications (BAKOM) was appointed to chair the network for the next two years.
69 representatives from 22 French-speaking media regulatory authorities took part in the conference in Geneva on October 24 and 25, 2017. The event, organized by OFCOM together with the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), provided an opportunity to exchange views on quality issues in the media sector, the training of journalists and regulatory activities.
This fifth edition of the REFRAM Presidents' Conference, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, focused on quality issues. The second focus was on the exchange of experiences and interactions between network members in various sessions and workshops.
OFCOM Director Philipp Metzger becomes head of the network
Following the expiry of the term of office of Ibrahim Sy Savané, President of the Haute Autorité de la Communication Audiovisuelle (HACA) in Côte d'Ivoire, REFRAM has entrusted OFCOM Director Philipp Metzger with the management of the network for the next two years. Nouri Lajmi, President of the highest independent authority for audiovisual communication (Haute Autorité Indépendante de la Communication Audiovisuelle HAICA) in Tunisia, will hold the vice-chairmanship.
The new management team has committed to implementing the roadmap approved by the REFRAM member institutions over the next two years. One of the priorities of this program is a comparative study of the different definitions of public service mandates in the 27 French-speaking countries represented in REFRAM. On the basis of this analysis, consideration will be given to the way in which the supervisory authorities monitor the fulfillment of these mandates.
Supporting audiovisual media
REFRAM also wants to deal with local audiovisual media. These are an indispensable tool for local reporting, but are often in a difficult financial and organizational situation. Drawing up an inventory of the main strengths and problems of the member institutions will make it possible to promote joint reflection on this subject, but also to identify methods to support these media in terms of quality and resources.
In future, the REFRAM web portal is to be completely revised and serve as a working platform for the remote exchange of knowledge between network members. In the long term, the development of a consultation process based on the expertise and experience of representatives from audiovisual regulation (peers) should also provide interested institutions with a tool for optimizing their services.
