Category: Programmes

Summary

The main outcomes to be achieved are to establish European standards with regard to funding models, the election and functioning of governing bodies; to design editorial guidelines and long-term strategies including internal management reforms; to develop and implement action plans for setting up integrated newsrooms; to introduce mechanisms for co-producing programmes and news on selected topics (e.g. investigative journalism) as well as for the regional exchange of digitised archive materials.

Donor

European Commission – DG NEAR D.5

Main Objective

The project aims to revitalise the region’s public broadcasting sector and bring new confidence to the key stakeholders involved.

Specific Objectives

The project has three specific objectives: firstly, it aims to reestablish European standards and promote best practice at the six public service media organisations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, with a particular focus on helping them to achieve financial autonomy from the state and greater accountability to the public.

It works on seeking consensus on the principles and practice for sustainable funding models as well as on securing agreement on fair, transparent and accountable procedures for electing the members of governing bodies.

The project also works to generate synergies between the six broadcasters by initiating a new phase in ongoing reform processes and helping to formulate long-term strategies.

In addition, the programme is focused on the improved implementation of editorial policies and complaints mechanisms, which in some cases exist on paper only.

It will also support efforts to establish integrated newsrooms, to streamline newsgathering and production processes.

A further aspect to the project is work in the field of management reform, developing long-term strategies and mentoring their roll-out across multiple departments.

This will be complemented by an initiative to equip regulators with the skills to conduct or commission reliable surveys which will give programme-makers a better insight into audience needs.

The third objective of the technical assistance programme is to expand cooperation in programme-making between the six public service media organisations, ensuring that they can pool resources and share audiovisual materials in a more effective way.

Main Activities

The project goals will be achieved by building the capacity necessary to produce in-depth investigative reports as well as high-quality programming for children and young people.

The project also seeks to introduce new interactive formats which optimise the potential for audience engagement.

In addition to this, a regional platform will be created for sharing archive material between the broadcasters, enriching factual programming and encouraging further collaboration.

The training and mentoring programme led by BIRN addresses some of the shortcomings inherent in mainstream media across the Western Balkans – low levels of professional skills, an absence of continued mid-career training, and indirect or direct outside influence which prevents the broadcasting of stories which conflict with the interests of local power-brokers.

Target Groups

The primary target group are the six PSBs in the Western Balkans, and the secondary target groups are the ministries and parliamentary committees dealing with media policy, regulatory bodies, self-regulatory bodies and relevant NGOs dealing with the freedom of the media.

Main Implementer

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

Partners

BIRN Hub, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Austrian public broadcaster ORF, the Office of the Eurovision News Exchange for South-East Europe (ERNO), European Federation of Journalists.

Summary

RVI counters dangerous messages that include terrorist propaganda, hate speech, disinformation, harassment, and intimidation. Online amplification and distribution tools has made targeting vulnerable audiences with manipulated and weaponised information possible at an unprecedented scale, increasing the risk of harm to individuals and communities, especially in post-conflict societies. The aim of the RVI is to empower a diverse group of civil society actors – activists, journalists, bloggers, educators, and other online (and offline) influencers – to strategically engage in online and offline communication campaigns, utilising technology, together with a deep understanding of their communities, to produce compelling content that effectively pushes back against polarising, inflammatory, and radicalising discourse.

From 2018, the Resonant Voices Initiative will expand its focus to the Western Balkan diaspora communities living in the EU.

Donor

European Union, Internal Security Fund – Police

Main Objective

The project’s general objective is to strengthen the influence of credible voices that challenge extremist propaganda by targeting audiences vulnerable to radicalisation within the Western Balkans diaspora in the EU.

Specific Objectives

–         To reach vulnerable segments of the Western Balkan diaspora living in the EU through a comprehensive and previously tested approach – a strategic communications model in response to radicalising influences leading to violent extremism, based on research, multi-stakeholder consultations, collaborative prototyping, and rigorous audience assessment and impact testing.

–         To provide credible, alternative, and positive narratives exposing and challenging online and offline extremist messaging and targeting of the Western Balkan diaspora.

–         To explore, address, and reduce the influence of push-and-pull factors of online extremist content among the Western Balkan diaspora.

–         To promote tolerance and the EU’s fundamental values among the targeted audience.

Main Activities

–         An in-depth audience research will be conducted with the aim to better understand the motivations, circumstances, and context that drives recruitment to violent extremism among the target audience. The research will also aim to identify gaps, shortcomings, and good practices in addressing extremist content, in the countering of extremist propaganda. Data will be collected to map online content and online behaviours of the target audience and their exposure to different types of narratives and problematic content, as well as existing or emerging counter-speech efforts.

–        The Resonant Voices Fellowship will create a pool of investigative journalists and reporters who will be able to competently and sensitively report on subject matters relating to extremist radicalisation and violence, as well as explore and investigate issues and influences driving online  extremist propaganda and other information manipulation efforts.

–         An online communication campaign to provide an alternative or counter narrative for a well-defined target audience that is vulnerable to radicalisation. This will be combined, where appropriate, with off-line activities, which will be designed and implemented. The project will strive to develop the capacities of local beneficiaries to meaningfully challenge extremist narratives by creating and distributing compelling content, using various creative communication techniques.

–         Based on the research, investigative reports, practical testing, and fieldwork conducted as part of this project, recommendations and other relevant findings will be compiled and further disseminated and used as guides in future Europe-wide efforts to counter violent extremism. These will be particularly for experts and practitioners engaged through initiatives of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) and the Civil Society Empowerment Programme (CSEP).

Target Groups

Audiences vulnerable to radicalisation and recruitment within the Western Balkans diaspora in the EU.

Main Implementer

Stichting Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) – Netherlands.

Partners

Foundation Propulsion Fund – Serbia

Balkan Investigative Reporting Regional Network (BIRN Hub) – Bosnia and Herzegovina