Senior managers and young professionals from 20 different EBU Member organizations will come together in Brussels this Friday (22 January) for the first EBU SkillsXchange Workshop.

The aim of the day is to discuss the latest trends in storytelling and media production with digital natives and senior managers in public service media and exchange ideas about how to build a better future for the industry.

The workshop is sponsored by EBU Media Director Jean Philip De Tender: “Millennials are the future, and they are a generation that has a very clear vision about what they expect from the future,” he said.

“I therefore believe that it’s important that we start thinking about the future by listening to this generation, by getting them on board, by working with them and thinking together with them.”

The event will be held at Google’s Headquarters with Youtube EMEA’s Senior Director Stephen Nuttall sharing his views on how the media can better engage younger audiences with creative new talent and content.

Among the other speakers in Brussels will be the Director General of Swedish Radio Cilla Benko who will discuss the transition from an analogue company to a public service broadcaster where all three pillars are equally important: terrestrial radio, online and social media.

A panel discussion entitled “From Media for today to Media for tomorrow” will debate the best ways to produce media for audiences from different generations and Belgian Flemish Member VRT will be pitching OpenVRT - a community for digital creatives in Flanders: bloggers, app builders, photographers and much more which provides a space for young digital creatives to discuss their ideas with each other and improve their skills.

There’ll also be a summary of the very first SkillsXchange which took place at the Prix Italia in Turin last September. Some of those who took part will share their experiences of this important project which facilitate the exchange of knowledge, know-how and ideas between young professionals working within EBU Member organisations.