HAPPENING AT THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
The Council of Europe Days were among the main themes of the plenary session of the Club of Venice which was held at Palazzo Franchetti between 30 November and 1 December of last year. The initiative highlighted the theme "The future of public communication" during the round table and is considered a good practice for institutional communication as it makes citizens aware of how the decisions taken in Strasbourg directly impact their daily lives. Most people would struggle to list the key points of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter. Few people know about the various conventions in force which cover every aspect of rights, from the prevention of torture to the fight against human trafficking, to the fight against violence against women.
But the future of public communication in Europe was also at the center of the debate in Venice in light of the many variables found on an institutional, political, technological and professional level.
Initial reports concerned the approach to the next European elections, which will take place in June 2024.
In fact, it is a crucial test to measure the degree of trust and awareness of citizens. The role that communication strategies will be able to play is important, in particular when promoted at every level. More generally, the need for intergovernmental collaboration and a system approach involving institutions, businesses and civil society was highlighted.
A second part of the conference addressed the specificity of technological evolution and the delicate balance between risk and opportunity that must be taken into account when using artificial intelligence. The main problem before everyone's eyes is that of manipulation, falsification and distortion of online content. At the moment there are no precise regulations in these areas, nor are there tools within everyone's reach that allow us to distinguish between true and false. In this sense, 2024 will be a real test, above all due to the fact that it is «an epic electoral year which will see around 2 billion people involved over the next 12 months (essentially half of the world's electorate) spread across over 70 countries on the planet", as explained in the editorial of this issue by the Foundation President Reggente Marco Marsilli.
