SEENPM Provides e-directory on Kosovo to Correspondents

20 December 2009, Pristina – SEENPM published and widely distributed an e-directory of useful contacts in Kosovo to news outlets in and beyond South East Europe. The document incorporating data on governmental offices, international organizations, political parties, embassies, media outlets and other institutions was produced by the Kosovo Media Institute in the framework of a project supported by the Balkan Trust for Democracy. The e-directory is a unique resource material which facilitates correspondents to gather information from multiple sources and write in-depth stories about Kosovo.

The directory of useful contacts in Kosovo was widely distributed by SEENPM which has 18 member organizations in 12 countries. Throughout December the document was promoted at roundtables and meetings including the SEENPM General Assembly meeting in Sarajevo, the seminar of journalists on Mediterranean policies in Tirana, and the General Assembly of the Kosovo Media Institute in Pristina. The document was sent to several thousand relevant e-mail addresses (news organizations, NGOs, press offices) in and beyond SEE, thus forwarded to the mailing list of 2000 Brussels correspondents which had been complied during the EU presidency of Slovenia. In Macedonia the directory was also shared on Facebook and published on several websites. See here.

The production of the e-directory was the final phase of the project called ‘Promoting Quality Reporting on Kosovo’ implemented by the Kosovo Media Institute (KMI) and the Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM). The aim of the program was to create new channels for communication and further the dialogue of SEE media professionals, and provide in-depth knowledge and accurate information about Kosovo to newsroom decision makers and reporters.

In the framework of the project, previously, KMI hosted a group of senior editors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia June 29 – July 3, 2009. The 11 participants ofthe study tour met with Arben Hajredinaj, Program Officer of the Media Section at the OSCE Kosovo mission; Christophe Lamfalussy, senior spokesperson and head of EULEX PPIO; the ICO spokesperson Andy McGuffee; Astrit Salihu, the political adviser of Kosovo’s Prime Minister; Blerim Shala, first vice-president of the leading opposition party the Alliance for Future of Kosova; Bajram Rexhepi, the mayor of Mitrovica; Slavisa Petkovic, member of the Kosovo parliament and president of SDS KiM, the leading political party of Serbs in Kosovo. The also visited several news outlets in Pristina and the Media Center in Caglavica.

Testimonials from participants:

Evis Halili, the political editor of the Macedonian daily Koha:“This was a very useful and practical visit for me as a journalist that covers regional issues. We got to learn a lot about the actual political situation from different ethnic and political perspectives, by meeting and discussing with prominent and relevant political and societal figures. This helped us to understand their views and positions from first hand on the present and future developments in Kosovo, as well as to establish direct contact with these figures, which we can use as sources in our every day work. I was especially impressed with our visit to both parts of the divided city of Mitrovica.”

Jasna Fetahovic from the Oslobodjenje daily newspaper (BiH): “I realized during the study tour how restricted my information was on Kosovo. It was extremely relevant to me to meet with ordinary people, to see how they live their life and also feel the atmosphere in Mitrovica. In my country people know very little what has been going on in Kosovo since it declared independence. At the same time, my paper publishes news items about Kosovo almost every day, so understanding the context of the events helps me a lot.”