Final Document of the 13th Conference

13.11.17

THIRTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

“TERRORISM AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA”

 FINAL DOCUMENT 

Sofia, Republic of Bulgaria 

September 28, 2017 

We, participants of Thirteenth International Conference “Terrorism and Electronic Media” are alarmed and concerned about growing terrorist activity in different regions of the world.

Within the past several years, international terrorism proved its capability to transform and take on new shapes. In particular, terror ideologists developed practical mechanisms of influencing public opinion in different countries (pointed painful hits to public zones of different countries, «telephone terrorism» etc.). Terrorism tries to influence societies through mass media, and is active in using multimedia information capacities on the Internet.

The conference participants presume that under such circumstances, the key task for the international journalist community is to develop intellectual approaches to counter terrorist ideology.

The conference discussed the IATR initiative to prepare recommendations for journalists who cover the issue of terrorism.

These recommendations are based on UN Security Council Resolution 2354, the SCO Convention on Counteracting Extremism and UNESCO publication «Terrorism and Media: A Handbook for Journalists».

Such recommendations constitute an integral part of the Final Document and are open for discussion among journalists all over the world.

The conference participants note a productive contribution in its work by representatives of the UN, UNESCO, OSCE, CSTO, Council of Europe, and many national public and state organizations, including unions of journalists in Bulgaria and Russia, Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia, the RF Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications and representatives of the Bulgarian parliament and government.

The conference participants are assured that the organizing committee will stick to the tradition of holding such conferences in different countries to attract new participants and will take it into consideration while planning the 2018 edition of “Terrorism and Electronic Media”. The conference participants propose to expand the conference format by adding a series of discussions on terrorism in different countries.

The conference participants propose to IATR to set up a Conference working group, and all the conference participants may amend it and clarify before October 22, 2017. The approved draft of the Final Document will be published in mass media of different countries and sent to national and International organizations.

 

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