BIRN Romania Launches Reporting Project on Moldova

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The Black Sea Trust For Regional Cooperation (BST), a project of the U.S. German Marshall Fund, has awarded BIRN Romania a journalism grant aimed at fostering mutual understanding between the peoples of Moldova and Romania via a series of human-interest stories (print and audio) on what it means to be citizens of these countries, separate states but yet so close in terms of history, culture and language.

Between September 2018 and May 2019, a total of at least ten journalists from Moldova and Romania will produce around 20 long-form, in-depth stories to be published locally and internationally. A selection of the stories will be published as an e-book for stakeholders and the general public.

“Despite many historical, cultural, linguistic and economic ties linking Moldova and Romania, most people from both countries still have little knowledge of one another. Media interest in daily issues is relatively high, but often characterised by unethical and unprofessional reporting”, says Marian Chiriac, director of BIRN Romania.

“In such a context, there is a clear need for human stories behind the official narratives, for fair, balanced, sensitive and educational long-form coverage to encourage greater understanding of one another.”