Bienvenida Institucional al Encuentro Mentes AMI 2022, Javier Bardají, CEO de Atresmedia

Good morning to everyone. Today is one of those days that on the Atresmedia calendar is truly very special. We have finally returned to the in-person format that we so needed. And truly, for us, this is a very important meeting from an institutional and corporate perspective for the company. Here in the background you have two representatives of the Atresmedia group, which summarizes very well what we do: we try to reflect and to move people. Boom does it every afternoon with Juanra in a cultural program in the center of the afternoon on Antena 3 every day, or Elena from the set of La Sexta trying to deliver with the greatest credibility and professionalism the news every day at noon. Reflection and emotion, that is the purpose that Atresmedia believes in, and it is the power we believe in. And these are not simply words, because otherwise we would not be organizing this great forum where the protagonists are you, the teachers. We also have a lot to learn. And we try to generate a script—never better said—but you provide content to that script. And I think there are two main words that bring us here today: inspiration. I believe this is a work session that provides us all with great inspiration to go home recharged and be able to work from Monday with a different mindset, having added, surely, some idea, some purpose, some plan, some reading, some new friendship that helps us improve our daily work, and above all, impact. If we try to do things like you do so that they have a real impact on society. Therefore, first of all, thank you. Thank you to the 1,300 teachers, no less, who are here in person, and to all those who are following us through Atresplayer for joining us on a day that we have prepared truly with great professionalism but also with great affection for all of you, because today, I repeat, the protagonists are you, the teachers. Thank you also to all the speakers participating in the different round tables for joining us in this meeting and sharing with all of you your knowledge and experience throughout this inspirational and learning day.

We live in times, indeed, and you know it well, of great global changes. We have suffered a pandemic with terrible effects, even personal for many of you, friends, etc. We continue to experience partly the economic and social effects of that pandemic, which is overlapping with subsequent crises we continue to face, such as the climate emergency and the armed conflict in Ukraine that we never imagined we would experience. Moreover, in recent years we have witnessed a true technological revolution that is here to stay, an acceleration of digitalization in most aspects of our lives. And all these changes are obviously impacting our sector, our visual world, which we know best, and it is transforming at a dizzying speed. The internet, social networks, platforms have changed the way we communicate, inform ourselves, and entertain ourselves. And although these media have also brought great opportunities and indeed have their positive side, because they have allowed greater accessibility to knowledge, it is also true that they have brought considerable risks: the emergence of post-truth in a manipulated way, attacks on truth and facts—there are no alternative facts, either there are facts or there aren't—the hegemony of algorithms that trap us in often polarized, identity bubbles that undermine diversity, so important for a healthy critical spirit, and the plurality of our Spanish society. At Atresmedia we are not oblivious to this complexity of the media context. We have the responsibility not only to adapt to it but also to participate, to bet on an audiovisually sustainable sector—but more than visually sustainable, since everyone talks about sustainability as the buzzword—socially sustainable. Of those ESG criteria we always talk about, the one that interests me most or that concerns us most is the 'S' because that's where we have the greatest capacity to influence.

It is known to all of you here that our commitment to education is not new; it is mainly linked through our foundation. We are truly aware that every time we broadcast, the media exercise a certain role, at least in building criteria, validating what is or isn't the facts. Curiously, we provide informational context. Increasingly, our job is to provide informational context to everything that happens because our world is much more complex and one must try to understand it. Therefore, our main commitment to citizens is to convey the facts as they are. It seems obvious but it is almost revolutionary at this time. The media, I think, are no longer the powerful opinion generators of yesteryear like we were. Today the new opinion generators are social networks, often generators of opinions and information that is false or not sufficiently verified. They distribute information but do not want to act as editors; paradoxically, they do not want to sign it because their algorithm does not know or care whether the news or fact is true or a fake. Clicks are sought at any price, and behind these platforms there are large global multinational companies. However, we do not abdicate our responsibility as editors. I always say that what matters is what happens on the sets, that is our responsibility. And of course we dare to assert our information because we have an army of almost 700 journalists working between Antena 3, La Sexta, and Onda Cero to guarantee two things: validation and providing context to what happens. Socially sustainable information. The algorithm is not effective in terms of social sustainability, in my opinion, just as attacks on user privacy or hate speech to foster toxic engagement are not sustainable. When I see, for example, the huge fines or major international lawsuits that platforms like Google, Facebook, Meta, TikTok face with major European and American authorities, you are amazed at the amounts of money being discussed in potential damages to third parties and to those organizations themselves. I don't know if those lawsuits are worth it for them, but what I do know is that they are there and they involve mind-boggling figures.

And as I say, the media leave our particular carbon footprint on society, and I am not referring precisely to the climate emergency or green sustainability, but to social sustainability. Everything we broadcast, whether we like it or not, can be toxic or non-toxic, and therefore it is important that we set this commitment to sustainability. For this reason, last year, after 15 years of activity of the Atresmedia Foundation, we decided to decisively reorient the activity of our foundation. Through it, we wanted to continue helping the audience we were dedicated to: children and young people, early youth, to better navigate this complex context and acquire the necessary skills to understand and analyze all the information and content they consume, foster critical thinking and responsibility when our young people also create content and share it through the different platforms they have access to. Ultimately, we want them to take advantage of the multitude of opportunities offered by the current media environment while avoiding risks such as cyberbullying, low self-esteem that often occurs among our teenagers due to the pressure of social networks, or the difficulty in distinguishing between the real and the virtual, or discerning between facts and opinions. Equipping them with these skills is what is known as media and information literacy, which also our young friends mentioned in the video you saw earlier. And so today, here in Madrid on a Saturday morning, we are going to meet for a few hours with experts from the field of communication, psychology, academia, or art who will analyze aspects of MIL and give you useful tools so that you can work on them with your students, because to face this challenge we need you.

Teachers, together with families, you are the essential vehicles to prepare children and young people to navigate this landscape. You are their main references, their mirrors whom they accompany, and you positively mark their lives through your teachings, words, advice, and above all, example. But you are also experiencing, and we know it, delicate moments. To be able to carry out your work, you need methodologies, tools, and above all, the support and recognition of society for that transcendental work you do. And that is also partly one of the objectives of this meeting: to value and thank you for the work you do permanently every day. That is why we must also value and reward, and that is why this meeting includes the MindSet Awards to recognize the work of teachers, educational centers, and good ideas that you are already promoting: projects to foster critical thinking, creativity, responsible creativity, and values and coexistence in the classroom among your students. Finally, I want to thank the more than 300 centers that have submitted your projects in this first edition, congratulate the finalists and those who will be winners today. Only a little more nerves remain. And from the Atresmedia Foundation, we just want to accompany you in this great educational challenge we are facing together. I repeat, this is one of those important days for Atresmedia, and that is why I wish you a great day of reflection, inspiration, learning, and above all, action, lots of action. Thank you very much to all of you, and excellent work this morning. [Applause]