The project consortium members met in Kaunas, Lithuania, for the DIACOMET kick-off meeting. It was organised on 13–14 June at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) – the team from this university is also leading our project.

The program of the first project conference included a keynote address by Aidan White, president of the Ethical Journalism Network, former General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists and member of DIACOMET Advisory Board, titled Ethical Journalism: an Inspiration for Free Expression.

Aidan White who also joined the panel discussion titled Towards Inclusive Civic Accountability Framework with Daphne Koene (the Netherlands Press Council and DIACOMET Advisory Board member), Krisztina Rozgonyi (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Dainius Radzevičius (Lithuanian Union of Journalists) and Marko Milosavljević (University of Ljubljana).

The project consortium also discussed the project’s work packages and presented each participating country within the context of existing media accountability frameworks. The event was a great opportunity for the consortium to meet face to face and establish relationships for cooperation in the next three years as well.