The 22nd annual conference promoted by COPEAM – Conferenza permanente dell’Audiovisivo mediterraneo, this year dedicated to the delicate and actual theme of the role of the media as regards the mass migration of Mediterranean peoples, took place in Malta from March 26 to 28, 2015.

A discussion forum between the most important operators and authorities of the field. Among the participants, political delegations from the Middle East, representatives of the Anna Lindh Foundation and UNHCR, organisations engaged in the integration and the protection of the refugees and immigrants rights, as well as several representatives from the publishing and media world, European and non-European.

Among the others, the conference was also attended by Anna Maria Tarantola, President of RAI and current vice-president of EBU (European Broadcasting Union), and by Paola Barretta, researcher at the Osservatorio di Pavia, renown Italian institute of research on the communication analysis, who presented the report “Migranti e rifugiati nei TG europei”.

The question of migration in the Mediterranean area has been interpreted as a matter of shared interest and the study on the role of media and their potentialities in this context has been crucial.  A certain attention has been paid to the presentation of proposals and cultural initiatives, audiovisual productions and cross-media projects, precious resources in support of the existing policies.

Alessandra Paradisi, president of COPEAM’s Strategic Committee, has finally invited to «describe the Mediterranean migratory emergency and the global phenomenon of refugees through an accurate, plural, stereotype-free information, strengthening the cooperation between the media, the institutions and the organizations working in this context».