GFMD Regional Meeting for members and partners in the wider European region

The GFMD regional meeting is going to take place on May 24th, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 6:30 PM Central European Time (CET) at the Hotel Holiday in Sarajevo. This meeting will follow the conclusion of the IPI World Congress and Media Innovation Festival that is taking place in Sarajevo from May 22nd to May 24th, 2024.

The meeting is being organised by the GFMD and UNESCO, in partnership with the International Press Institute (IPI), the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).

The GFMD regional meeting aims to provide a unique space for members and partners based and working in the wider European region to foster dialogue and collaborate on critical issues facing the present media landscape. Through collaborative discussions and knowledge sharing, participants will explore best practices and innovative solutions to support a thriving and independent media in the region.

Registration

To join the meeting in person, please fill in this form. To join the meeting online, please register here.

If you are interested in attending the Sarajevo regional meeting, please subscribe to our Europe mailing list by sending an email to [email protected], and keep an eye out for updates, announcements, and logistical details. We will also be using the list to solicit your feedback and suggestions for the programme and the agenda.

Objectives

The meeting will reinvigorate support for independent media and the information environment across the wider European region by uniting journalists and media support actors with donors and policymakers in brainstorming strategies for implementing the recently adopted OECD Development Cooperation Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment.

The Principles are the successful culmination of more than two years of consultations and advocacy led by GFMD and the Centre for International Media Assistance (CIMA) in collaboration with bilateral donor agencies (including Sweden, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States), intergovernmental institutions (including the Media Freedom Coalition, through its Media Development Working Group and UNESCO’s IPDC), implementing organisations, civil society representatives, and media development experts.

If you have academic research, reports, and/or evaluation papers documenting what works and what does not work in media development in the region, please add them to the second sheet of this mapping spreadsheet or send them to [email protected]. We will include these in our literature review. The spreadsheet access is closed, with access granted upon request.

Agenda

13.45 – 14.00 – Registration & Welcome

14.00 – 14.05 – Welcome

Frane Maroevic, Executive Director, International Press Institute (IPI)

Drew Sullivan, Editor and Publisher, Organised Crime and Corruption Project (OCCRP)

14.05 – 14.20 – Opening remarks

Zoe Titus, GFMD Chair and Director of the Namibia Media Trust

Saorla McCabe, Advisor for Communication and Information Strategy and Policy at UNESCO, Deputy Secretary of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication

Sara Lindegren, Deputy Head of Mission-Counsellor, the Embassy of Sweden in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

14.20 – 15.00 – Using the Principles as a catalyst for change

Conversation with Mira Milosevic (Executive Director, GFMD), Mark Nelson (consultant, former Senior Director, CIMA), Maida Muminovic (Executive Director, Mediacentar Sarajevo), and Davor Glavas (Chief of Party BMAP-F| Internews Advisor for Western Balkans) on the OECD Development Cooperation Principles. Followed by Q&A.

15.00 – 15.45 – Flash Presentations

Evgenia Konovalova, Program Manager Amplify Europe, Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF)

Katerina Sinadinovska, Journalist and Founder, Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia

Jodi Blankenship, Project Manager, Reporters Shield

Milka Domanovic, Regional Director, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN)

Olga Myrovych, CEO, Lviv Media Forum

Jasna Kilalic, Deputy Democracy Officer, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

15.45 – 16.00 – Breakout Groups Briefing. Instructions for the activity of the Breakout Groups. Please use this form to indicate which breakout group you want to participate in.

16.00 – 16.30 – Coffee Break

16.30 – 17.45 – Breakout Groups 

17.45 – 18.15 – Reporting from breakout groups. Breakout groups’ rapporteurs highlight the main areas for future work, collaboration and practical ways that the principles could be implemented. 

18.15 – 18.30 – Wrap up and Conclusions

18:30 – 20:00 – Networking drinks. Foyer in front of the Holiday Hall Room 

Additional details will be provided on the dedicated GFMD IMPACT resources page closer to the event.

To find out first about the latest conferences, festivals, forums, meetings, and other events related to media development, journalism support press freedom and related subjects check out GFMD’s calendar.