Balkan media forum to be held in Turkey's Bursa

A forum on how the media can help ensure lasting peace in the Balkans will be held in the Turkish province of Bursa on May 2 and 3 with the participation of high-level Turkish officials. Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu are both expected to attend the “Balkan States Media Forum: The Media as an Effective Tool for Promoting Lasting Peace in the Balkans.” Top officials and representatives of public and private media institutions as well as academics from the Balkan states will attend the forum. Following the opening speeches, the first session, on the “General Outlook of the Media in the Balkans,” will begin. Topics to be discussed during the forum include “Democratic Peace and Media,” “Democratization Process, Multiculturalism and the Media,” “Media within the Framework of EU Membership,” “EU Membership Process and Media,” “Peaceful Coexistence in the Balkans, Shared Values and the Media,” “Role of the Media in Promoting Regional Peace and Stability” and “Media Responsibility in Forging the Future: The Balkan States Media Platform.” Arinc and Davutoglu are both expected to make opening speeches, as are Murat Karakaya, the General Director of the Office of the Prime Minister, Directorate General of Press and Information, or BYEGM; Professor Bulent Aras, Director of the Center for Strategic Research of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, or SAM; Bursa Gov. Sahabettin Harput; and Bursa Mayor Recep Altepe. The forum is being organized under the auspices of Arinc by the BYEGM and SAM at the Ataturk Congress and Culture Center.