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Week ending June 11, 2016

EBU - BHRT TO BROADCAST FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS FOLLOWING AGREEMENT WITH EBU - June 8, 2016
from Michelle Roverelli/EBU

Bosnia and Herzegovinian Radio and Television (BHRT) will be able to show this summer’s UEFA EURO 2016 Championships after it reached a last-minute agreement with the EBU.

EBU Member BHRT is under severe financial pressure and recently announced it would be forced to stop broadcasting at the end of June. Last month the EBU announced it was owed over CHF 6 million by the broadcaster.

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said: “We have had productive talks with BHRT over the last week and are pleased to have reached an agreement to continue providing Member services including access to UEFA EURO 2016 and the News Exchange.

“The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains critical but we are hopeful that BHRT will be able to agree a plan with the Government to help repay their debts and safeguard sustainable funding to allow audiences to continue to enjoy sport on the channel throughout the summer."

The EBU has been active in supporting BHRT in its efforts to secure funding and has called upon the European Parliament and the European Commission to support the implementation of EU standards in the media of the country.

BHRT will now continue broadcasting until at least the end of UEFA EURO 2016 on 10th July by which time it hopes to have obtained a financial agreement with authorities.

Euronews Group creates Euronews Ventures to back start-ups with high innovation potential such as Kiwi Plug - June 6, 2016
from Lydie Bonvallet/Euronews

As part of its diversification push, Euronews Group is launchingEuronews Ventures, a programme to back innovative technology start-ups.Kiwi Plug, a start-up in the connected-device space, is the first player to join the programme. Kiwi Plug will thus receive support from Euronews Ventures right from the start of itsglobal fundraising campaign on Kickstarter on 7 June 2016.

Euronews Ventures is the new Euronews Group project designed to back start-ups that develop innovative products and services for consumers worldwide.

The purpose of this programme is to accelerate the development of the most promising start-ups by providing them with a complete array of media and marketing services: global communication levers, media coaching, events, networking through the international network of Euronews and Africanews, media for revenue or even media for equity, etc.

"For more than 20 years, Euronews has been experimenting with new technologies which have radically redrawn its business sector. This pioneering spirit now drives us to back initiatives by talented and ground-breaking entrepreneurs. I am delighted to announce the creation of Euronews Ventures with Kiwi Plug,voted one of the top fiveFrench IoT* start-upsat CES 2016 in Las Vegas. Kiwi Plug will benefit fully from our reach and international media network, with initial support from its crowdfunding campaign on the global platform Kickstarter, which launches tomorrow."

"The fruit of 18 months' R&D, Kiwi Plug packs all the infrared signals of your home and office appliances into a connected plug device, and it caught the eye of IoT professionals at the most recent CES. It's a source of great pride for our start-up to receive backing from Euronews Group, initiated by Michael Peters. Euronews will give us global exposure for a revolutionaryproduct that is designed for tomorrow's connected world.Kiwi Plugis an innovation that will change our daily life in the simplest of ways.See you on 7 June on Kickstarter!"

Compatible with all types of infrared appliances (TVs, air conditioners, speakers, video projectors, cameras, etc.) of all brands, Kiwi Plug is a connected device that offers the possibility to control all everyday electronic devices in the easiest way. Guillaume Guttin, founder of communications agency Groupe Com'unique, specialised in tactical media for the past 10 years, is behind this innovative idea.

Backed by French Economy Minister, Emmanuel Macron, at CES in Las Vegas last January, Guillaume Guttin is launching a global campaign on 7 June 2016 on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter

Presented to telecoms professionals at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, Kiwi Plug replaces the many remote controls cluttering up the coffee table and office. Now, your smartphone becomes a universal remote control. Kiwi Plug is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones and the application can be downloaded from Play Store and App Store.

To add extra value to his product, Guillaume Guttin offers customisation options. With a printed logo, matching the colours of a brand or company, Kiwi Plug turns into a promotional tool or an innovative and original business gift.

EBU - Generation What project reaches more than 700,000 young people across Europe – June 6, 2016
from Dave Goodman/EBU

Since its launch nearly 2 months ago, the EBU’s ‘Generation What Europe’ project has seen 715 000 young people aged between 18 and 34 from 31 countries take part in the very first pan-European survey of its kind.

18 EBU Members from 12 different countries are signed up to the project which asks participants to compete a survey of around 140 questions focused on family, peers, self, society, the future, country and identity. 62 million answers have been recorded so far.

The highest number of participants to date have been in France (315 491), Germany (87 856), Austria (63 803) and Italy (57 507).

Switzerland is the latest country to come on-board with EBU Members RTS, RSI and RTR in the French, Italian and Romansch speaking regions now taking part.

Using the questions from the survey, 20 video modules are being produced by each EBU Member in which panels of young people answer questions on camera which are then compared with stats from others who have taken part online.

Four full scale television documentaries about young people and their lives are also being made focusing on the subjects of ‘Intimacy’, ‘Becoming an adult’, ‘My job’ and ‘Me and my friends’.

“We are thrilled that Generation What Europe has proved so popular with young people from around Europe. We have seen high participation numbers in our Members’ countries but also in nations not officially taking part which shows how powerful this project, powered by public service media, is,” said Thomas Grond, Head of Young Audiences.

So far the questionnaire has revealed some interesting results:

    * From the 27 countries answering the question “Should my country should leave the EU” including the UK facing a referendum on the issue on June 23 - only a majority in Sweden, Finland and Croatia said I AGREE.

    * Respondents in 26 out of 27 countries said they felt “European”. The majority of Irish however said no.

    * In Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Slovakia, Austria and Bulgaria the majority of respondents believe previous generations are to blame for problems facing youth today.

    * Gay couples kissing in the street only "bothers" the majority of Norwegians, Swedes, Poles, Hungarians, Croatians and Romanians from the 25 countries who answered the question.

    * Trust in the police is lowest in Italy, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.

    * In answer to the question “does society give you the chance to show what you’re really capable of?” the majority in Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey said No.

    * Can you be happy without internet? – Young people in The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary all say they could.

    * The Irish, Welsh and Greeks are the only ones from 27 countries asked who say they couldn’t be happy without a mobile phone.

    * The majority of respondents in 21 countries say marriage is “their dream” but the majority of Spanish, Romanians and Greeks view it as a “piece of paper”.

    * Boys who wear trousers so low that you can see their underpants "bothers" the majority of people across Europe except the Spanish, French and Slovenians!

The 18 EBU Members taking part in ‘Generation What Europe’ are BNN (Netherlands), BR (Germany), Czech Radio (Czech Republic), Czech Television (Czech Republic), ERT (Greece), France Télévisions (France), ORF (Austria), RAI (Italy), RTBF (Belgium), RTE (Ireland), RTS/RSI/RTR (Switzerland) RTVE (Spain), S4C (Wales), SWR (Germany), VRT (Belgium) and ZDF (Germany).

Previous News From You

News From You: Week ending June 4, 2016

News From You: Week ending May 21, 2016

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