Monetary policy strategy review - The Bank of Italy listens to the world of communications

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Evento online, 22 February 2021

On Monday, 22 February, at 11.00 am, the second listening event takes place online, this time round with contributions from communication experts on the Eurosystem's monetary policy strategy review.

The video of the event is available on the Bank's YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/SAD_wNysN3k.

Twelve journalists from different newspapers who are experts on economics and finance will converse with Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy; Eugenio Gaiotti, Head of the Directorate General for Economics, Statistics and Research; and Luigi Cannari, Head of the Directorate General for Markets and Payment Systems. Angela Barbaro, Head of the Communications Division, will moderate the event.

The communications experts in attendance are:

  • Andrea Cabrini, Class CNBC, Managing Editor
  • Domenico Conti, ANSA
  • Daniele Manca, Corriere della Sera, Deputy Editor in Chief
  • Enrico Mentana, TG La7, Director of La7 News and Sport
  • Maurizio Molinari, La Repubblica, Editor in Chief
  • Francesco Ninfole, MF - Milano Finanza
  • Beda Romano, Il Sole 24 Ore, Brussels EU Correspondent
  • Alessandro Speciale, Bloomberg News, Rome Bureau Chief
  • Alessandro Sallusti, Il Giornale, Editor in Chief
  • Giselda Vagnoni, Reuters, Italy Bureau Chief
  • Sarah Varetto, Sky Italia, Executive Vice President Communications, Inclusion & Bigger Picture
  • Marco Zatterin, La Stampa, Economy & Finance Editor

The event is testimony to the importance attributed by the Bank of Italy, the ECB, and by the other central banks of the euro area to listening to the opinions and assessments of various sectors of society on the monetary policy of the Eurosystem.

The round table will start with the last strategy review in 2003 and the sweeping changes that have taken place in the economy. The global financial crisis, the sovereign debt crisis in the euro area, and most recently the pandemic, have all required the adoption of unconventional tools to preserve the transmission of monetary policy to the economy, stimulate demand, and ensure price stability. Further long-term developments such as globalization, digitalization, the ageing population, and climate change can all have lasting effects on the decisions and behaviour of firms and households, the functioning of financial markets, and on the economy as a whole.  

The conversation will then turn to the implications of these changes for monetary policy and for how it is communicated to experts and members of the public, with a special focus on the following themes:

Communication with experts

  • How can our understanding of the monetary policy mandate and its objectives be improved? 
  • How transparent are the activities of the Governing Council?
  • Do the ECB and the Eurosystem provide too little or too much information?  
  • Is information on monetary policy effectively channelled?
  • What are the challenges involved in addressing different national audiences?

Communication with the public

  • How can the public's understanding of the role, mandate and objectives of monetary policy be improved?
  • How can the public's understanding of the everyday impact of monetary policy decisions be improved?
  • Does the Eurosystem interact appropriately with the public?
  • How can the Eurosystem make its tools of communication more accessible to the mainstream media targeting the general public?
  • Are there issues of primary public interest?
  • How should Eurosystem communication evolve in order to keep up constant and rapid changes in mass media and communications?

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