This project is aimed at improving media reporting of Roma communites in the Balkans. Donor: Co-funded by the European Union under the IPA 2009 – Civil Society Facility – Regional Programmes

Objectives

The overall objective of the action is to increase the quantity, quality, and accessibility of media content aimed at the Roma communities of the Balkans—in Bosnia, Serbia, and Macedonia in particular. In this way, we aim to increase permanently the visibility of the problems, rights, and needs of Roma populations in the region, contributing to the Roma’s inclusion in mainstream society. Specific objectives are to improve and strengthen the capacity of Roma media; improve the skills of individual Roma journalists and majority community journalists specializing in reporting minority issues; increase the outreach capacity of civil society organizations dealing with Roma and minority issues and encourage their closer cooperation with Roma and mainstream media; and launch two news operations aimed at Roma populations of the region, showcasing good professional standards.

 

Project Activities

This 24-month project will be in five main and mutually complementing parts. The first will be creating a network of Roma media, CSOs, and other governmental and non-governmental institutions working on Roma and other minority issues. This part of the project will have three compenents inluding creating a database of the Roma media otlets, CSOs, and individual journalists regularly covering Roma and minority issues, inviting the main actors in the field to join the network, and a two-day regional open forum on Roma media and visibility of Roma issues for network members. The second part of the project will be a pool of 18 Roma and non-Roma journalists, six from each country, being trained in multimedia storytelling. The third part will be the creation of a regional, multilingual news and information web portal for Roma communities in the Western Balkans. The fourth part of this project will be the launching of the first ever professional radio show aimed at Bosnia’s Roma community. The final part of the project will be creating professional marketing and sustainability plans for the Roma media.

 

 

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Updates

How Fair the Balkan Media's View of the Roma?

 

 On 14 and 15 October, Transitions and its partners organized a two-day conference in Novi Sad, Serbia, aimed at assessing media coverage of Roma issues in the Balkan region.
 
The conference gathered representatives from governments, civil society, and the media from Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia. Among other issues, the conference sessions focused on the position of Roma media in the region; the role of government institutions in strengthening Roma media and programming for Roma; and experiences from Central and Eastern European countries in countering prejudice and stereotyping of the Roma in the media. A regional news and information portal on and for the Balkans' Roma communities developed as part of this project was presented at the conference. 
“Advancing Roma Visibility” is a two-year project aimed at increasing the quantity, quality, and accessibility of media content for and on the Roma communities of the Balkans with a view to permanently increasing the visibility of problems, rights, and needs of Roma populations. Funded by the European Union under the IPA 2009 – Civil Society Facility – Regional Programs, the project is implemented in cooperation with Foundation Mediacentar Sarajevo, Kali Sara Roma Information Center, the Novi Sad School of Journalism, and the Macedonian Institute for Media.

 

Higher Visibility
 Between 27 May and 3 June in Sarajevo, Transitions organized a workshop on multimedia storytelling for a group of 18 Romani and majority-community journalists from Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia. The course was part ofAdvancing Roma Visibility, a two-year project aimed at increasing the quantity, quality, and accessibility of media content for and on the Romani communities of the Balkans. Co-funded by the European Union, the project is being implemented by Transitions and its partners, Mediacentar Sarajevo, the Kali Sara Roma Information Center, the Novi Sad School of Journalism, and the Macedonian Institute for Media. The course, which included a series of practical exercises as well as theoretical instruction, was taught by Dean CK Cox, a photojournalist and trainer, and Nedim Dervisbegovic, the head of  the multimedia operation of RFE/RL’s Balkan service. In the coming months, participants will work in teams of two with a trainer on concrete Roma-related stories in their countries. The resulting content will be published on a regional news and information website for and on the Balkan Romani communities developed as part of this project.

More photos can be seen here.