Press Release

Strasbourg, 16 January 2012

The European Audiovisual Observatory celebrates its
20th anniversary in 2012
Bosnia and Herzegovina takes over the Presidency

The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2012. A special logo has been created for the purpose, which will figure on all Observatory publications and communication throughout the year.

Taking over the annual Presidency of the Observatory for the coming year is Bosnia and Herzegovina represented in the organisation’s Executive Council by Kemal Huseinovic, Director General of the country’s Communications Regulatory Agency.

The Observatory was originally set up in 1992, at a time when national governments and industry players realised that the crucial overview and comparative approach necessary for understanding the underlying trends in the audiovisual industries were simply not available. A common political will led to the creation of this audiovisual observation instance. The goal of the Observatory was at the time and indeed still is to promote “transparency” or greater clarity and understanding of the audiovisual industries in Europe, both from a market/economic and legal point of view. The City of Strasbourg offered to house the Observatory, which made it possible to link the Observatory structurally to the Council of Europe.

Twenty years on, the Observatory continues to promote transparency by producing information on the audiovisual industries in Europe in the form of publications, free access databases and a web portal. It also houses the European Platform for Regulatory Authorities (EPRA).

The Observatory’s Three Year Action Plan (2012-2014) has recently been adopted by the Executive Council. It stipulates the strengthening of the on-line presence of the Observatory through a completely revamped website, the reinforcement of the data collection on on-demand audiovisual services (VoD, catch-up TV, connected TV) and the continuation of extensive reporting on the evolution of audiovisual legislation, in particular on topics related to new technologies.

Wolfgang Closs, the Observatory’s Executive Director, stated that 2012 would be marked by three major workshops all conveying a strong 20th anniversary message: the annual Observatory afternoon at the Cannes film market, a workshop in Sarajevo in June and ending with an autumn workshop in the Observatory’s home town of Strasbourg. Closs concluded that, in spite of the current economic climate, the Observatory is going “from strength to strength”, currently providing information on 37 European countries and engaging in new projects such as collaborating on the data collection initiative for the Mediterranean countries with the Euromed Audiovisual III Programme of the European Union.

Closs added that the increasing demand for reliable information on the new technologies and their implications for Europe’s legislation in the audiovisual field meant that the Observatory’s role as a central information source is as pertinent as ever.

Speaking as the new President of the Observatory for 2012, Kemal Huseinovic pointed out that the Observatory’s newest Member country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was proud to be presiding over its anniversary year. He hoped that European film and television professionals would show increased interest in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s audiovisual industries thanks to information made available by the Observatory.

The Observatory will announce the dates and themes of the three workshops in the course of the coming year.

The European Audiovisual Observatory

Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory's mission is to gather and distribute information on the audiovisual industry in Europe. The Observatory is a European public service body comprised of 37 member states and the European Union, represented by the European Commission. It operates within the legal framework of the Council of Europe and works alongside a number of partner and professional organisations from within the industry and with a network of correspondents. In addition to contributions to conferences, other major activities are the publication of a Yearbook, newsletters and reports, the compilation and management of databases and the provision of information through the Observatory’s Internet site (http://www.obs.coe.int).