Around 200 participants from all CEI countries and beyond attended the XVIII South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF), a CEI Flagship Event, held in Podgorica, Montenegro, on 27-28 November 2024 under the title “Media and Elections - Professional and Political Challenges”.
Journalists, media experts, politicians, representatives of international organisations and academia debated in lively panel discussions the role of media in elections. Special focus was given to the impact of different political environments on media practices and electoral integrity; the critical role of strategic public communication in countering false narratives and maintaining public trust; the role of media in shaping public opinion, informing voters, and influencing election outcomes.
The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović gave the welcome address and followed the panel on media and politics in Montenegro. He pointed out that “the role of independent media in the democratization process is not limited to objectively informing citizens, but also to promoting values such as freedom of expression, rule of law and transparency”.
In her opening remarks, Nizaheta Kurpejović Cikotić, CEI National Coordinator for Montenegro, emphasized the “commitment of Montenegro to strengthening regional cooperation and EU integration” and highlighted that “media freedom is an essential pillar of every functional democracy”.
Welcome speeches were also delivered by Oliver Vujovic, Secretary General of the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO); Christoph Plate, Director of the Media Programme of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) South East Europe; Johann Sattler, EU Ambassador to Montenegro; and Radka Betcheva, Head of Member Relations Central and Eastern Europe, European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The Forum was complemented by the presentation of the CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism 2024. CEI Senior Executive Officer, Barbara Fabro bestowed the honour upon Adrian Mogoş from Romania, winner in the “Professional Journalists”, and upon Dino Cviko, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Giorgio Michalopoulos, from Italy, winners ex aequo in the category “Young Professional Journalists”.
Special mentions were assigned to Taras Zozulinskyy (Ukraine), Cornelia Cozonac (Moldova), Elvin Luku (Albania), Saša Dragoljo (Serbia), Jovana Georgievski (Serbia), Ivana Milosavljević (Serbia). This year, environmental matters were among the topics of the award. Therefore, some of the awardees were involved in a panel discussion on the relevance to elections of environmental issues in the media.
The Annual SEEMF is organised by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), in partnership with the KAS Media Program South East Europe and the Central European Initiative, with the support of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the South East and Central Europe PR Organisation (SECEPRO), the International Institute – International Media Center (II-IMC) and the International Academy.
For more info: fabro@cei.int
