The Charlie Hebdo Effect in the Balkans

The attacks against the French journalists stirred vivid emotions and considerable reactions, without, however, increasing the Islamophobia in the region. The debates failed to critically tackle the role and limits of the freedom of expression in relation to the freedom of religion. Apparently, the freedom of expression has fewer and fewer supporters even  among the media professionals. These are the main conclusions of the report The Charlie Hebdo Effect in the Balkans. The study is based on national reports prepared by media experts in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

The report is available here.

The report – the first in a series of six dedicated to freedom of expression in the region –  is part of the program South East European Partnership for Media Development, implemented by a consortium of media organizations from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania.  The partnership is aimed at bringing new stakeholders to the public debate related to media freedom and independence and at creating synergies between the media organizations and these stakeholders (trade unions, freedom of expression groups, teachers, parents, state actors, etc). The project addresses three main topics: labour conditions for journalists, media education (both for journalists and the public) and freedom of expression at large and is going to be conducted until 2017.
The project is co-funded by the  The Civil Society Facility, Media Freedom and Accountability Programme, EuropeAid/134613/C/ACT/MULTI

For more information please contact: Ioana Avadani, project manager – ioana@cji.ro; + 4 0723 508278; Cristina Lupu, communication expert – cristina@cji.ro; + 4 0726 108245

This  document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents are the sole responsibility of the Center for Independent Journalism and can under no circumstances  be regarded as reflecting the position of the EU