Under the title “Do Press Councils Have a Future?”, the annual conference of the Alliance of Independent Press Councils of Europe (AIPCE) will be held in Montenegro on 25 and 26 September, 2025. This annual gathering of European press and media councils, which takes place in a different European country every year, will be, for the first time, organized in one of the Western Balkan countries.
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- Download: Agenda AIPCE 2025 Montenegro
The AIPCE annual conference represents a unique opportunity for the exchange of experiences, challenges, and best practices among press councils from across Europe, as well as self-regulatory bodies from other continents, which participate in these conferences as observers. This year, the central theme will focus on the survival, role, and future of press councils in the digital age, particularly in the context of the implementation of the new European Media Freedom Act.
In addition to this central panel, the two-day program will include various discussions on numerous issues burdening the work of self-regulatory bodies, including political and economic pressures, the spread of disinformation, society polarization, and the growing presence of unprofessional media actors in the public sphere.
A panel on artificial intelligence, media, and self-regulation will be especially relevant, given the rapid development of various AI tools and their impact on the media industry. Another important panel will address the relevance, authority, and influence of European press and media councils — and how to improve them where necessary — aiming to shed light on the current challenges faced by these bodies in their daily operations.
Organizers emphasize that the conference in Montenegro will be an important opportunity not only to strengthen cooperation between European and regional bodies, but also to promote the values of free and responsible media as a corner stone of any democratic society.
