BFJE Fellows Selected for 2019

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Ten journalists from across southeast Europe have been chosen for this year’s Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence. Over coming months, they will tackle in-depth features and investigations on the topic of FREEDOM.

Now in its 13th year, the BFJE programme gives mid-career journalists the funding and editorial support to dig into complex issues of local and international significance.

This year’s participants were competitively selected from more than 80 applications. An independent committee comprising seven senior European media figures evaluated proposals based on relevance, feasibility and originality, as well as candidates’ professional qualifications and motivation.

The journalists come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia.

The fellowship programme will kick off with an introductory seminar in Belgrade in late April. In addition to receiving funds for research, the journalists will get mentoring from seasoned international editors as they conduct reporting trips to countries in the region and the European Union. The programme will conclude in December with an award ceremony.

Here are the fellows for 2019:

  1. Angel Petrov (Bulgaria)
  2. Ani Sandu (Romania)
  3. Dina Djordjevic (Serbia)
  4. Jelena Prtoric (Croatia)
  5. Katerina Topalova-Dejanovska (North Macedonia)
  6. Kostas Zafeiropoulos (Greece)
  7. Milena Mitrovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  8. Stavros Malichudis (Greece)
  9. Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj (Kosovo)
  10. Vedrana Simicevic (Croatia)