A roundtable on regional media cooperation was held on Wednesday, 8 October 2014, in Mikser House. The event was organized by the Centre for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe (CDRSEE), whose current affairs talk show “Vicinities” already aired three seasons, with the support of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB), the German Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).
The keynote speakers at the event were the German Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Heinz Wilhelm, CDRSEE Chairman Dr Erhard Busek, EFB Executive Director Hedvig Morvai, CDRSEE Director and “Vicinities“ Editor-in-Chief Zvezdana Kovač, and RCC Spokesman Nenad Šebek.
Addressing the topic of Serbia’s relations with the countries in the region, Ambassador Wilhelm noted that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s visit to Belgrade, scheduled in the near future, was yet another good example of regional cooperation. "Reconciliation and bringing people together is important in a region which still bears open wounds. Some of them might still be bleeding,” stated Ambassador Wilhelm. He emphasized that the German Foreign Affairs Ministry would continue to support this project, which aims to connect people in the entire region.
CDRSEE Chairman Dr. Erhard Busek noted that "Vicinities" not only brings the whole region closer to Europe, but also creates a stable society. He emphasized that it is a civil society project of great importance for the media in the region.
EFB Executive Director Hedvig Morvai pointed that the project promotes the same ideas supported by European Fund for the Balkan, among which, reconciliation and democracy. She reminded that Croatia recently joined the EU, Albania was granted candidate status, while Serbia and Montenegro embarked on accession negotiations, and emphasized that the goal is not only to take on EU standards but also to ensure their application.
RCC Spokesman Nenad Šebek believes that the main purpose of “Vicinities” is regional cooperation and approximation of the region to Europe. “We will bring about our own change much faster with each other’s help,” pointed Šebek.
CDRSEE Director and “Vicinities” Editor-in-Chief, Zvezdana Kovač, emphasized that in its first three seasons aired in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia and Kosovo, the show proved that this is a valuable project.
For more information, please visit the following website: http://www.okruzenje.net/
For more information on Vicinities please visit the following link http://www.okruzenje.net/, and see the press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceztk6vRnQg
