The Future Media Lab. gathered approximately 125 media experts, EU policy makers and key stakeholders at its third conference on 23 April 2013 to work on a vision of the future media landscape in 2050 and discuss the political aspects of this outlook. Through a combination of keynote addresses, panel discussions and the Future Media Lab.’s hallmark workshops, organised based on The World Café format participants tackled two primary issues:

(a) What will Europe’s media landscape look like in 2050?

(b) How will democracy sustain values that media has ensured until now?

European Commission’s Vice-President Neelie Kroes (Digital Agenda) gave the opening keynote and media expert Michiel Buitelaar (Sanoma Media NL) and futurist William Higham (The Next Big Thing, UK) set the scene for the interactive session run by the European Commission’s Digital Futures project (for the presentations of Michiel and William, click here and here, respectively).

8.45 // Registration & Networking Breakfast

9.15 // Welcome Address // Dr. Angelika Schlunck // Director of the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union

9.20 // Opening Keynotes

• The politics of a fast-changing media landscape // Vice-President Neelie Kroes // European Commissioner for Digital Agenda for Europe // European Commission
• Disruptive innovations in media – an outlook // Michiel Buitelaar // COO Digital Media at Sanoma Media Netherlands, Netherlands
• A Balanced Media Diet? Social change and future media use // William Higham // Founder & CEO of The Next Big Thing, UK

10.15 // Digital Futures – Think Tank Module // Interactive Workshops using The World Café Format

These workshop sessions were facilitated by the European Commission’s Digital Futures Team and revolved around the topic “The media landscape in 2050: policy ideas.” Expert teams met with their hosts in small working groups. The outcome of these working groups were later presented to the audience after the workshop sessions and the topics discussed were picked up by the concluding panel.

• Session One: What will Europe’s media landscape look like in 2050?
• Session Two: How will democracy sustain values that media has ensured until now?

12.45 // Video Message // Vice-President Viviane Reding // European Commissioner for Justice, Human Rights and Citizenship

12.50 // Concluding Panel // Moderated by Simon Taylor // Assistant Editor at the European Voice

• Didier Ongena // General Manager of Microsoft, Europe
• Romanus Otte // General Manager, Welt Digital at Axel Springer, Germany
• Rik de Nolf // CEO of Roularta Media (BE) and Groupe Express (FR)
• Nick Piggott // Head of Creative Technology at Global Radio, UK
• Kerstin Jorna // Director, DG Market, European Commission
• Martijn Bal // Managing Director, iMinds Media, Belgium

13.45 // Networking Lunch

End

Click here for more information about this conference’s post-conference report. To read the post-conference report as a pdf, click here.

You can also find information about the speakers and sponsors in the Conference Packet.

Not able to join us in Brussels? No problem! The discussions that were started on 23 April are continuing online on Futurium – a web space for the co-creation and curation of Digital Futures. The floor is yours! More information about Futurium can be found here.

This conference was hosted by the European Magazine Media Association, Association Européenne des Radios and the European Business Press.

To see a complete list of Future Media Lab supporters, past and present, please visit our Sponsors page.

This conference was kindly hosted by the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU.

For more photos of the event, please visit our photo gallery.

All photos were taken by Thomas Geuens.