The Advisory Committee of the European Audiovisual Observatory has elected its Chair for 2025 and 2026. Laura Houlgatte, CEO of the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) was elected to the chair of the Observatory’s Advisory Committee during their meeting on 20th September. Her term of office starts on the first of January 2025.

The European Audiovisual Observatory provides facts, figures and analyses of the audiovisual industries in Europe. Its work covers film, television and on demand services from an economic and legal point of view. The Observatory’s Advisory Committee brings together 39 different industry representative groups with members such as the EBU, ACT, the SAA and CINE-REGIO, for example. It meets in Strasbourg each spring and autumn to give the Observatory grass roots feedback on the kind of information and analysis media professionals in Europe really require for their work. Advisory Committee members also support Observatory’s projects by sharing expertise, data and industry contacts.

Laura Houlgatte thanked her fellow Advisory Committee members for their confidence and said she looked forward to her two years in office. She stated: “It’s an honour to be elected by my peers and I am very grateful for their trust. I look forward to contributing to the invaluable work of the European Audiovisual Observatory.”

Susanne Nikoltchev, Executive Director of the Strasbourg-based Observatory, thanked Pauline Durand-Vialle for having guided the Advisory Committee through four challenging years, including the difficult pandemic times, online meetings and reduced personal contacts. She expressed her thanks for Pauline’s “unwavering commitment to the Observatory’s Advisory Committee” and looked forward to further collaboration with FERA which Pauline will continue to represent in the Committee.

About European Audiovisual Observatory
We are part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The European Audiovisual Observatory provides data and analysis on the cinema, television and VOD industries in Europe, from an economic and legal point of view.