Ms Kateryna M'yasnykova, Executive Director of the Independent Association of Broadcasters (center) in her opening speech at the II International Forum on Digital Broadcasting in Ukraine. Photo: Industrial Television Committee, Ukraine.

More than 170 participants attended the Second International Forum on Digital Broadcasting in Ukraine which was held by the Independent Association of Broadcasters (NAM) and Industrial Television Committee with the support of IMS and International Renaissance Foundation on September 19

International Forum gathered more than 170 participants including representatives of national and international public authorities, leading broadcasters, producers of broadcasting equipment and media experts from Estonia, France, Finland, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Moldova, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Vietnam.

This year saw speakers from the Ukrainian Council on Security and Defence as well as the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine. Both play a very important role in introducing digital broadcasting in Ukraine and they both attended the Interntaional Forum on Digital Broadcasting for the first time.

At the Forum, participants discussed the results already achieved in introducing public broadcasting in Ukraine and challenges of the next stage of the process which are to be faced and overcome by Ukrainian state, industry and society. Presentations of the international experts provided the best examples of national strategies for introducing digital broadcasting successfully implemented in various European countries including Great Britain and Finland.

- This year, Forum confirmed that in order to successfully introduce digital broadcasting in Ukraine, all the interested parties and key-players should cooperate and convene professional working groups that include representatives from both state, business and society. The bodies should have decision-making authority and its own budget. the broadcasting industry needs to see the clear costs and step-by-step program of the process", outlined Executive Director of the Industrial Television Committee, Ms Kateryna Kotenko.

Next Forum in fall of 2009

The organizers are already in the process of planing the next Forum which is scheduled in Fall of 2009, said Executive Director of NAM, Ms Kateryna M'yasnykova and summarized the outcome of this year's Forum:

- We succeeded in engaging professionals in the Forum discussions, who are currently actively involved in introducing digital broadcasting in Ukraine. We have also managed to draw public attention to the problems of broadcasters which present the most "vulnerable" group in the process of introducing digital TV. On the other hand, a low level of public awareness on the issue is still one of the main problems.

Continuous support to the process of introducing public broadcasting in Ukraine is one of the IMS Programme priorities in the country, as digital broadcasting enhances pluralism and opens new perspectives for the improvement of editorial standards, thus benefiting freedom of expression in Ukrainian society.

More information on the Forum in Ukrainian may be found at www.dtvforum.org.ua. An English-language version of this web-site is currently under construction.