Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) President Aimilios Perdikaris was elected to the board of directors of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) on Friday.

During the EANA General Assembly held in Athens, he received 25 votes out of a total of 26 members present, while two members abstained from voting. The term of office of EANA board members is three years.
The General Assembly also elected Stefano de Alessandri, head of the Italian news agency ANSA, president of EANA for the next two years. De Alessandri was a member of the board during the last three years and succeeds the Agence France Presse (AFP) head.

Alexandru Giboi, secretary general of EANA, remains at his post, while Patrick Lacroix of Belgian news agency Belga and Claudia Nicolae of Romania’s Agerpres are also members of the board.

In addition, the General Assembly unanimously approved ANA-MPAs Sofia Papadopoulou for the position of chair of the Equality and Inclusion Committee.

Perdikaris will be succeeded as chair of the Public News Agencies Committee by Paweł Kostrzewa from the Polish agency PAP.

In addition, the membership of Latvia’s news agency Leta was approved with 25 votes in favor, while the board also awarded the annual innovation prize to Norway’s NTB. The award  was established in memory of Maxim Minchev of Bulgaria, and the award-winning NTB application involves the automated recognition of faces in photos and videos using artificial intelligence, and their introduction into news agency systems for real-time distribution.

In a statement after the meeting, Perdikaris said, “It is a great honor to be elected to the EANA Board of Directors, and I am grateful for the trust and support of my colleagues from across Europe.”

“This decision is not simply a personal recognition or reward for my work over the last few years. Above all, it is a vote of confidence in the Athens-Macedonian News Agency and the work of all its employees and management in order to become a powerful regional news agency and play a leading role in the media landscape. The same applies to the honor bestowed upon our colleague, Sofia Papadopoulou, to head the EANA Equality and Inclusion Committee,” he added.

“At a time when news agencies are facing major challenges, such as the use of artificial intelligence, as well as serious risks from misinformation, fake news, and deep fakes, the need to maintain their credibility through cooperation is more important than ever. I look forward to working with my colleagues, the members of the EANA Board, to strengthen cooperation between European news agencies and ensure that we can meet these challenges. To serve our duty to the truth and remain the most reliable and independent source of information and news for our societies,” concluded the president of ANA-MPA.

In comments about her selection, Papadopoulou said, “Equality and inclusion are not abstract ideals, but fundamental values for journalism and for the society we belong to. In this context, we will work as a team to ensure that the newsrooms of news agencies reflect the diversity of our communities and that these issues are high on the journalistic agenda.”

On his part, the new president of EANA noted that he will work together with the heads of agencies to upgrade their role at European level and especially to secure their position in the new media landscape shaped by technological developments.
De Alessandri referred to the armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and said that although times are extremely difficult for journalists, he remained optimistic that obstacles and difficulties would be overcome with the cooperation and active participation of all news agencies.