U.S. Participants at 2012 Forum 2000 Conference

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks at the annual Forum 2000 conference.

Ambassador Eisen moderates a panel looking into the topics of ethics and media at the Forum 2000 conference.

The annual Forum 2000 conference was held in Prague on October 21— 23, 2012. This unique initiative, which was founded by Vaclav Havel, brings together leading thinkers and policymakers who are focused on democracy and human rights issues. This year’s conference was focused on the topics of media and democracy. The topic was proposed by the late Vaclav Havel himself, at the closing of the 2011 conference.

Among the American guests participating this year were Prague-born former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Ms. Bay Fang and the US Ambassador to Prague, Norman Eisen.

Ambassador Eisen spoke on a panel looking into the topics of ethics and media, relating to the fact that media shapes public opinion, the value systems of individuals, as well as societies, and in many respects creates the essence of a culture.

The panelists, amongst whom were Josef Jařab, former Rector of Palacký university in Olomouc and Central European Univesity in Budapest, Bristish/Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and Ahmad Mango, Advisor to Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, discussed to what extent media today realize their responsibilities as arbitrator of truth or about shifting balance regarding the media’s educating, entertaining or even manipulating the public.