South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) - South Eastern Europe

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is an NGO that works to promote democratic values by providing assistance to members of the media in the South Eastern European (SEE) region. Through research, advocacy, training, and information dissemination efforts, SEEMO hopes to:

• promote and safeguard freedom of the press
• foster understanding among journalists and other media professionals - both regionally and internationally
• improve the standards and practices of journalism
• promote the free exchange of accurate and balanced news and the free flow of information across national boundaries
• ensure the safety of journalists and to allow them to work without government interference
• promote co-operation, understanding, and an exchange of professional experiences and opinions among its members, who hail from newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, internet, new media, and news agencies in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Moldova, Romania, Serbia-Montenegro, and Slovenia.

Main Communication Strategies
SEEMO works to support the media in various ways through the provision of information, training, and networking opportunities. Some of this assistance is financial. For instance, it collects and distributes information about existing aid programmes and identifies sponsors for SEE journalists and media outlets in need. In 2001, SEEMO offered a scholarship in an effort to strengthen independent media in Yugoslavia. Journalists who received the 3- to 4-month scholarship were trained in radio journalism in Vienna. They then worked in the SEEMO office in Vienna, as well as at "Donaudialog", a multilingual radio show produced by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF)'s Radio 1476.

SEEMO also focusses on helping journalists who are threatened or working in situations of conflict. Training is offered to editors in conflict management. In June 2001, a SEEMO Helpline was launched to provide journalists, editors, and media managers with information about whom to contact in times of trouble. This hotline also helps journalists get in touch with each other. After threats, SEEMO has provided some journalists in the region with mobile phones, sponsored by the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Another strategic focus is promoting cross-cultural understanding among the media in the region. In May 2003, SEEMO organised a conference for senior journalists and media executives from Kosovo and Serbia. Another conference drew 70 journalists from Roma media across SEE to discuss the problems they face. Participants recommended the establishment of a network to improve information exchange and facilitate training programmes. In addition, in September 2003 SEEMO opened a resource centre in Opatija, Croatia for minority media. The centre is dedicated to training, promoting, and researching ethnic minority media. In its first year of operation, the centre will offer seminars for senior journalists working for Roma media in southeast Europe, journalists working for Turkish media in Kosovo, and editors-in-chief working for Serbian media in Croatia. These programmes will be led by international media experts and journalism professors.

SEEMO has also created a committee of media law experts with representatives from every SEE country. This committee analyses current legislation regulating the media in the SEE countries, prepares texts for a new media legal framework, conducts interventions with local authorities, provides training in media law, and offers legal advice to media outlets and journalists.

National teams monitor press freedom violations and hate speech to inform the publications including protest letters, IPI World Press Freedom Review (an annual publication), books about the SEE media situation, and journalists' codes of conduct.