LVIV, June 17 2004 – The International NGO, Internews Ukraine, held a conference on June 17 and 18 in Lviv, entitled “Mass Media in Election Campaigns: The Experiences of Ukraine and Poland”. The conference was organized taking into consideration “The Year of Poland in Ukraine” and reinforced an exchange of experiences among different countries on mass media activities during election campaigns.

The discussion concentrated on the achievement of European and International standards during election campaigns. Specific attention was allocated to Poland’s experience in adapting its legislation to the practices and standards of the OSCE, Council of Europe and European Union. Additional issues on the agenda included: equal access to media, legal principles of the election campaign, objective coverage of the elections in the mass media, television debates, as well as the regulation of political advertisements and political propaganda.

Members from the Central Election Commission, the Council of Europe in Ukraine, the National Council of TV and Radio Broadcasting in Ukraine, and international organizations participated in the conference. In addition, representatives of state agencies, mass media, NGOs, and media lawyers, from both Ukraine and other countries were present at the event.