Around 200 participants gathered in Sarajevo on 7-8 October at the VII South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF), the biggest media event in South East Europe. The Forum was organised by the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) in cooperation with the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the German political foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). This year’s event focused on “Journalism in South East Europe: monopolies, business models and the struggle for quality”. Further topics of the panels and discussions were the transparency of the media markets and the media pluralism in the region.
The forum was opened by Željko Komšić, President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who also held a public interview with several renowned journalists. A discussion on the media situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina followed.
CEI Alternate Secretary General, Ambassador Margit Waestfelt, emphasised the CEI commitment to promoting freedom of expression and media pluralism, transparency and independence. In particular, she confirmed that “the CEI would further expand its action especially to support its non-EU CEI countries in order to come closer to EU standards in terms of media legislation, digitalisation, public broadcasting service, free movement of journalists and quality journalism”.
Relevant journalists from the region as well as representatives of media groups - such as Dogan Media International Istanbul, Axel Springer AG Berlin, Mediapart Paris - contributed to the discussions. Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and Andris Kesteris, Principal Advisor for Civil Society and Media, EC DG for Enlargement, also took part in the event.
During the Forum, the “CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism” was granted to the Bosnian-Herzegovinian reporter Mahir Šahinović (in the section “Professional Journalists”) and to the Bulgarian journalist Rosen Tsvetkov (in the section “Young Professional Journalists”). A special mention was assigned to the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI).
The SEEMF programme also included the projection of the documentary film “How do I see my neighbour?” realised by the European Association of Public Service Media in SEE in the framework of the CEI–RCC partnership project, funded by the EC-IPA Multi-beneficiary Programme.
SEEMF Programme
Press release on the winners of the CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism
Awarding Ceremony
The forum was opened by Željko Komšić, President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who also held a public interview with several renowned journalists. A discussion on the media situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina followed.
CEI Alternate Secretary General, Ambassador Margit Waestfelt, emphasised the CEI commitment to promoting freedom of expression and media pluralism, transparency and independence. In particular, she confirmed that “the CEI would further expand its action especially to support its non-EU CEI countries in order to come closer to EU standards in terms of media legislation, digitalisation, public broadcasting service, free movement of journalists and quality journalism”.
Relevant journalists from the region as well as representatives of media groups - such as Dogan Media International Istanbul, Axel Springer AG Berlin, Mediapart Paris - contributed to the discussions. Dunja Mijatović, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and Andris Kesteris, Principal Advisor for Civil Society and Media, EC DG for Enlargement, also took part in the event.
During the Forum, the “CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism” was granted to the Bosnian-Herzegovinian reporter Mahir Šahinović (in the section “Professional Journalists”) and to the Bulgarian journalist Rosen Tsvetkov (in the section “Young Professional Journalists”). A special mention was assigned to the Investigative Reporting Project Italy (IRPI).
The SEEMF programme also included the projection of the documentary film “How do I see my neighbour?” realised by the European Association of Public Service Media in SEE in the framework of the CEI–RCC partnership project, funded by the EC-IPA Multi-beneficiary Programme.
SEEMF Programme
Press release on the winners of the CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism
Awarding Ceremony