EBU ‘A European Perspective’

A collaborative news service with the participation of SWI swissinfo.ch provides European audiences with trusted content from across Europe thanks to an innovative news sharing model. The curated news feed, A European PerspectiveExternal link, keeps audiences throughout Europe up to date on the most important issues and common challenges of our times, overcoming the language barriers that often separate them.

Manon Voland

SWI swissinfo.ch is a member of the ten public service media which launched A European Perspective in July 2021. Led by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the feed uses cutting-edge online tools, including Artificial Intelligence, to overcome language barriers to share diverse content from across the continent.

“The service makes it possible to shed light on universal topics such as migration, Covid-19 or even climate change from different European perspectives. You see what people in Europe care about,” says Larissa M. Bieler, Director and Editor-in-Chief of SWI swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch readers gain access to stories that showcase the many facets of European identity, and aids their understanding of how European countries deal with comparable challenges. This is made possible by new translation technology and a careful selection of topics in a curated feed.

Participating organizations are able to display the dedicated feed – or widget – on their homepages or within any given article, thereby underlining the growing importance of providing a European perspective on public service news coverage.

“As Switzerland’s international service, SWI swissinfo.ch is excited to be part of this initiative tackling issues that affect everyone. We are delighted that we are offering readers stories from our European partners, and that the stories we produce at SWI swissinfo.ch are being presented to broader European audiences thanks to those same partners,” explains Dale Bechtel, Executive Editor, Format Development.

This wealth of stories will help European citizens contextualise trending topics. In a world where audiences are overwhelmed by an avalanche of information that has no editorial or ethical guardrails, ‘A European Perspective’ serves as a beacon of trust and integrity. Its content is deeply rooted in core European values such as respect for human dignity, equality, inclusion and the rule of law.

Besides SWI swissinfo.ch, EBU members from several European nations are participating in the initiative, including from RTBFExternal link from Belgium, YLEExternal link from Finland,  France TélévisionsExternal link,  BR/ARD from Germany, RTÉExternal link from Ireland, RAI from Italy, RTPExternal link from Portugal, RTVEExternal link from Spain as well as the Franco-German broadcaster, ARTE.

The ten public media organizations are able to select and publish each other’s content through a bespoke digital news hub that uses AI technology to translate the reports into multiple languages. The service is underpinned by the EBU’s PEACH system for recommendations and the EuroVOX toolkit for automated language services.

Asun Gomez-Bueno, Director of International Relations at RTVE, said “Through the project, public service media will be able to bring their contribution to society to the next level by ensuring that the trusted, impactful journalism they produce transcends national borders and reaches new audiences.” 

‘A European Perspective’ has been made possible through a grant from the European Commission’s Multimedia Actions programme. It is co-funded by the EBU.

In the framework of the EU-funded project, ‘A European Perspective’ is complemented by a second Europe-wide content offer, ‘The European Collection’, which is managed by ARTE. ‘The European Collection’ with the participation of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), is a curated selection of documentaries, magazine shows and reports focusing on European politics and society.