Journalists and editors from the country’s most influential media outlets and other friends of the organisation attended the event.
The book contains ten reports written by journalists from all over the Balkans, based around the core theme “Power struggle: Meeting Global Energy Challenges in the Balkans”. The 10 journalists were selected in an open competition organised by BIRN with the support of the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the ERSTE Foundation. Lavdim Hamidi has won first prize in this year’s programme for his article “Power Games Delay Escape from Poverty”.
BIRN Romania Director, Marian Chiriac, has announced next year’s programme, encouraging local young journalists to apply for it.
One of the 2008 Romanian fellows, Magda Munteanu, author of the article, “Nuclear Power: Curse or Opportunity?”, spoke about her experiences with the programme, and recommended it to the journalists attending the meeting. In her article, Magda told how the Balkan states are gambling on the nuclear option as the best way to reduce the energy shortage, without fully considering the downside risks.
Andreea Gheorghe, another of this year’s fellows, gave an overview of her article and findings. In her investigation, “Miners Remain in Dark about Future”, Andreea looked at the future of the coal industry in the Balkans and the social problems that arose following the closure of many mines in recent years.