Baku hosted Tuesday the 11th annual meeting of the Black Sea Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (BRAF), organized by the Azerbaijan’s Audiovisual Council.

This year’s meeting, focused on the protection of children in media services, gathered around 30 heads and senior officials of audiovisual media regulatory authorities from Serbia, Romania, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Türkiye, Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. Representatives of Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, the country’s Media Development Agency, and local media outlets also participated in the meeting.

BRAF serves as an important regional platform aimed at enhancing dialogue and cooperation among broadcasting regulatory authorities across the Black Sea region, fostering the exchange of ideas and best practices.

In his opening remarks, Ismat Sattarov, Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Audiovisual Council, underscored that Azerbaijan is honored and privileged to host of the meeting of the forum, which brings together a number of countries with rich culture, history, and traditions, also playing a key role in the modern political system.

Deniz Güçer, BRAF Secretary General, described the platform as a great opportunity to develop solutions meeting the shared vision, adding that such an initiative is crucial not only for BRAF member states, but also for the entire region and beyond.

Merve Safa Kavakci, First Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), highlighted the forum’s long-term successful activity, noting that it created excellent opportunities for promoting multilateral cooperation.

The event also featured the screening of a video on the theme of the BRAF’s 11th meeting.

The Forum participants agreed to hold the 12th edition of BRAF in Albania.

The meeting proceeded with two panel discussions: “Legal framework for protection of children and effective implementation”, moderated by Jelena Kolo Jovanovic, Coordinator for International Affairs of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media of Serbia, and “The role of media literacy and parental control in protection of children”, moderated by Saida Shafiyeva, Head of the Communication Division of Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency.

During the sessions, the discussions focused on pressing issues in the field of media, regulatory mechanisms, and opportunities for cooperation.

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