The Association for Responsible and Sustainable Development (UZOR) held a meeting yesterday with representatives of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG), on the one hand, and the General Director of the Government’s Media Directorate of Montenegro, Neđeljko Rudović, as well as the President of the Commission for Monitoring Investigations of Attacks on Journalists of the Government of Montenegro, Mihail Jovović, on the other hand, on the occasion of the start of the implementation of the project “Effective Prevention and Protection of Journalists in Montenegro”, which aims to support a complete and effective protect journalists and other media workers, as well as improving the harmonization of the legislative framework with the acquis of the European Union.
In addition to the presentation of the project, the aim of the meeting was to map the contributions that interested parties can have to improving media freedom and protecting journalists in Montenegro, as well as establishing mutual cooperation in order to achieve operational goal 4.3. Montenegrin Media Strategy: provided a safe environment for the work of journalists.
The Regional Director for Southeast Europe of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Dr. Klaus Fiesinger, emphasized that the project “Effective Prevention and Protection of Journalists in Montenegro” is: “An opportunity to provide support to Montenegro on its path to membership in the European Union in the area of media freedom.” . In terms of the project, the key activities are primarily comprehensive analysis and research of the environment in which journalists work in Montenegro, the types of pressures they suffer, the effectiveness of investigations into attacks on journalists, advocacy activities that will support the work of the Commission for Monitoring Investigations of Attacks on Journalists, as well as building programs capacity and education in order to contribute to the prevention of attacks on journalists and the adequate processing of attacks on journalists, as well as the protection of journalists.
The Director General of the Media Directorate of the Government of Montenegro, Neđeljko Rudović, said: “The topic of freedom of expression and support for detecting attacks on journalists is an absolute priority for every society, and our part of the job is to prepare a legislative framework for media work in Montenegro.” On that occasion, Rudović also presented the Media Strategy and emphasized the commitment of the Media Directorate to help the work of the Commission for Monitoring Investigations of Attacks on Journalists in order to achieve free journalism. “Despite our modest capacities, cooperation with the Hanns Seidel Foundation and with partners from civil society is extremely valuable to us, and we will participate in your activities with great enthusiasm,” underlined Rudović, adding: “Our mission is to contribute to configuring the optimal environment for freedom of the media in Montenegro.”
The partners in the project “Effective prevention and protection of journalists in Montenegro” from Montenegro are the Association for Responsible and Sustainable Development (UZOR) and the Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG), of which Marko Pejović, program manager the director at UZOR stated: “Freedom of expression is a daily battle, and I believe that with cooperation with civil society, that battle has better prospects for success.” In this sense, Pejović expressed the commitment of the Association for Responsible and Sustainable Development (UZOR): “identifying fields in which synergistic participation is important of all actors for the sake of achieving full media freedom in Montenegro”.
The general secretary of the Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG), Mila Radulović, recalled the key activities of the project in which the DPNCG will make a special contribution: “Especially in the area of self-regulation of the media, providing psychological and legal assistance to journalists, as well as assistance to the Commission for monitoring investigations into attacks on journalists to implement the recommendations in the investigation of attacks on journalists, as well as the establishment of a new website of the Commission”.
The President of the Commission for Monitoring Investigations of Attacks on Journalists of the Government of Montenegro, Mihailo Jovović, pointed out: “The Commission should determine whether the investigations of attacks on journalists are effective, but the work of the Commission depends on the goodwill of the people who are at the head of various institutions that have information related to these attacks, as well as whether the competent institutions will implement the adopted recommendations,” emphasizing that the help received through this project will be valuable in order to improve the effectiveness of the recommendations made by the Commission.
The project “Effective prevention and protection of journalists in Montenegro” is implemented by the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Montenegro in partnership with the Association for Responsible and Sustainable Development (UZOR) and the Association of Professional Journalists of Montenegro (DPNCG) with the financial support of the European Union, and for a period of two years aims to support the complete and effective protection of journalists and other media workers, as well as to improve the harmonization of the legislative framework with the acquis of the European Union.
With the expressed commitment of all interested parties for cooperation on this project, the possibilities of improving the environment in which journalists and media houses work in Montenegro have been mapped, which ultimately aims to contribute to the European integration of Montenegro through the fight against impunity for attacks on journalists and the protection of journalists.
Željka Ćetković, project manager at UZOR
