On September 26, RA ESCS Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan received the Delegation headed by the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Armenia Martina Schmidt who is in Yerevan to present the report on "Needs Assessment of the Media Field of Armenia", prepared by the Council of Europe.

Welcoming the guests, Alfred Kocharyan noted that media reforms and freedom are one of the pillars of a democratic country. According to him, all the programs of the Council of Europe are a useful experience for any country, including in the field of media literacy.

Martina Schmidt informed that the Council of Europe has prepared a needs assessment report on Armenia's media field, which analyzes the domestic legislation, including media freedom, freedom of speech, the fight against disinformation, issues related to media literacy and their compliance with the standards of the Council of Europe. According to her, the results and proposals of the needs assessment report, as well as the assistance of the Council of Europe in the relevant area will be presented in the format of a panel discussion.

The members of the CoE Delegation were particularly interested in the activities carried out by the ESCS Ministry in the direction of increasing media literacy.

Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan, highlighting the importance of the programs implemented in the direction of media literacy, noted that the state standard of general education includes educational materials on the development of democracy and civic abilities, as well as media literacy.

Other issues of mutual interest were also considered at the meeting.