NPO and VRT will collaborate in four areas in the coming years. In addition to making and exchanging programs and sharing technology and innovations, the collaboration should also lead to the development of techniques to detect and combat disinformation. The latter concerns, for example, tools that should support journalists and media makers in detecting fake news. A fourth and final goal is the joint production of educational materials and the sharing of strategic research.
Both NPO and VRT are looking forward to the collaboration. “As countries we already share so much with each other and we will now also do that in the field of media,” said NPO chairman Frederieke Leeflang. VRT CEO Frederik Delaplace adds: “We are joining forces to be even more of a public broadcaster for all our viewers and listeners.” According to Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), Flemish media minister, the collaboration between NPO and VRT will also evolve further in the coming years. “There will be more initiatives that aim to better connect the media landscape in Flanders and the Netherlands. In this way, we want to ensure that our media players and viewers are ready for the challenges of tomorrow.”
As previously announced, the drama series ‘Arcadia’ is the first full co-production between VRT and NPO. The series itself can be seen in Flanders and the Netherlands in the course of 2023.