Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence awards ceremony to be held in Zagreb

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Participants in this year’s Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence will meet for their final seminar and awards ceremony in Zagreb, Croatia from December 11-14.

Ten journalists from across the region have spent the past few months investigating stories within the overall annual theme ‘Integrity’, tackling issues of corruption, media, politics and the legacy of war.

The Zagreb event represents the culmination of the journalists’ participation in the programme, when they will have the chance to present their work to the selection committee members who will vote for the top three stories.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on December 13, which will be attended by the Fellowship programme’s partners, selection committee members and Croatian media.

The winner will be awarded a cash prize of 4,000 euro, with the second and third place runners up receiving 3,000 euro and 1,000 euro respectively.

The final event in Zagreb will also feature meetings with important figures in Croatian media and politics, as well as a cultural programme.

This year’s Fellowship programme began in May in Vienna, where the fellows took part in career development training and fellowship orientation programmes. Each fellow was awarded a 2,000 euro bursary and a further 2,000 euro travel allowance.

As well as travelling to neighbouring Balkan states, thefellows also visited other EU member states including Greece, Czech Republic, Ireland, Britain, France, Germany and Belgium.

The fellowship programme aims to develop and support Balkan journalists reporting on complex reform issues. It was established by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and ERSTE Foundation in cooperation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.