Donor: Civica Mobilitas

Partner: National Council of Disability Organizations of Macedonia

Overall Objective: Effective advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities in the public sphere.

Specific Objective: Establishing substantial cooperation between CSOs representing people with disabilities, journalists and relevant institutions through networking, joint coordination and practice of human rights-based journalism.

Activities: Training for strengthening the mechanisms for cooperation between PwD CSOs, journalists and relevant institutions; Training for inclusive journalism, for journalists and representatives of PwD CSOs; Production of video stories on topics related to the social inclusion of people with disabilities; Production of a video campaign for the advocacy of the rights of people with disabilities; Preparation of communication strategy and establishment of efficient channels of digital communication for the needs of NSIOM.

Donor: European Union

Seven media development organizations in the Western Balkans have joined forces under an EU funded project ’Media for Citizens – Citizens for Media’ to build capacities of CSOs to advance media and information literacy (MIL) in the region.

The project (2018 – 2021) strives to contribute to strengthened and vibrant civil society actively advocating for advancement of MIL policies and practices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

What will the project do?

• Research reports will map the current state of MIL policies and practices in each country and the region as the basis for following activities.

• MIL coalitions will be formed in each country as inter-sectorial working groups to draft advocacy plans and coordinate their implementation, supported by advocacy campaigns.

• MIL Regional Screenshot, a one-day event, will gather various stakeholders, activists/experts and practitioners in Novi Sad, Serbia, for a regional exchange on how to advance MIL.

• MIL Summer Festival will gather some 150 participants in Ohrid, Macedonia for educational workshops, expert panels and networking sessions featuring leading regional and EU-based experts so as to exchange knowledge and practice on innovative and creative digital solutions for promoting and teaching MIL.

• Training future trainers will create a regional pool of 50 MIL trainers to train civil society organizations eager to advance and promote MIL across the region.

• 40 MIL initiatives by civil society organizations will be funded by this project to raise awareness and educate about MIL and its importance.

• Online campaigns will put in the spotlight the views about MIL of journalists, teachers and citizens – students, parents, the elderly – as the main protagonists.

• “Journalism for Citizens” will bring renowned journalists into high schools to bring MIL closer to students focusing on media freedom and critical understanding of media contents.

The regional program “Media for Citizens – Citizens for the media: Strengthening the Capacity of NGOs for the Development of Media and Information Literacy in the Western Balkans” is implemented with the support of the European Union by partner organizations Mediacentar Sarajevo, Albanian Media Institute,Macedonian Institute for Media, Montenegrin Media Institute, Novi Sad School of Journalism, Peace Institute, SEENPM .

Donor: European Union

The purpose of the proposed action is to strengthen visibility of persons with disabilities (PwD) in media. It relies on innovative approach, viewing the media visibility of PwD as means and necessary precondition to their active participation in public life and equal treatment in exercising the rights and freedoms.

Specific objectives:
– Increased effectiveness of PwD CSOs by assuming assertive approach in communication with media;
– Improved understanding and Inclusive journalism skills of media representatives;
– Established sustainable CSO-media cooperation mechanisms in support to participation and inclusion of PwD;
– Media invisibility of PwD placed higher on the policy-makers’ agendas.

Donor: European Union

Description: The Macedonian Institute for Media in partnership with the Institute for Communication Studies, the Independent Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers and the Media Diversity Institute – London has launched the News and Digital Literacy Project – Where Fake News Fails. The aim of the project, which will be implemented in the next three years with financial assistance from the European Union, is to improve effectiveness, responsibility and ethics of civil society and journalists in using the right of freedom of opinion and expression through promotion of news and digital literacy.

The project will contribute to increasing the knowledge of CSOs to effectively counteract fake news and unethical media reporting and will help social media users become knowledgeable consumers of online news and information and responsible active citizens. It will increase debate on news and digital literacy among journalists by emphasizing the economic and social conditions for freedom of expression.

The activities are designed in a way to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of the target groups, so that they can further promote news and digital literacy both in the media industry and among wider audience. The project foresees trainings, mentoring and re-granting of CSOs, preparation of a Social media strategy and research on the motivations of social media users, as well as production of various educational resources (videos, tutorials, blog posts, online quizzes). Within the project, campaigns and media events for social media users, journalists and CSOs will be organized. An annual media award that promotes journalism in the public interest will be organized and monthly publications for media professionals will be published.

Donor: Irex Promedia-Macedonia

Description: The project was consisted of following activities:

• Training program “Reporting during elections”

Mid-career journalists from Macedonian media participated at one-week training “Reporting during elections”

• Pre-election journalistic caravan

Pre-election caravan visited 6 cities in Macedonia and 6 round tables with the local journalists were organized during these visits.

• Roundtable “The journalists and the parliamentary elections 2002”

The final roundtable was organized in the capital Skopje.

Donor: British Embassy in Skopje, Center for War Peace and News Media from New York, IOM (International Organization for Migration)

Description: The Macedonian Institute for Media, supported by the British Embassy in Skopje, the Center for War, Peace and News Media from New York and the International Organization for Migration, implemented the project TV Magazine Kontrafor. Seven TV stations from the conflict impacted areas in 2001 in Macedonia participated in this project.

In the framework of the project workshops for the journalists and cameramen who participated in the implementation of the TV show “Kontrafor” were organized.

The TV Magazine includes 12 programs in duration of 30 minutes, focused on local topics interesting for the local population regardless of the ethnicity. Journalists worked in pairs, one Albanian and one Macedonian journalist worked on every half hour program.

Donor: USAID, Institute for Sustainable communities

Description: The overall objective of the MACSS program was to ensure that the Macedonian civil sector achieves a seat at the table in social and political decision-making as a vehicle for heightening citizen participation in public life. The Project was focused specifically on supporting the civil society sector to: a) diversify and decentralize, b) achieve meaningful results in publicly beneficial areas, and c) increase its breadth and impact through effective CSO relations with constituents and other stakeholders.

MIM was member of the consortium team of the project and provided training to program partners and NGOs involved in CSSP on message development, public relations, and working effectively with the media. MIM also worked with the consortium, Leader NGOs, and key stakeholders on a national public relations campaign on behalf of the civil sector. In addition to core trainings in public relations, MIM provided individualized follow-up training and assistance for organizations to each module to supplement the training material and ensure that organizational systems and practices are put into place. .

Donor: British Embassy

Description: This project was focused on strengthening relevant national media outlets and public administration representatives with skills and techniques, that will enable them to pursue and maintain action for improving political and economic transparency and accountability at all levels of state organs in Macedonia.

Main activities were trainings in professional investigative journalism for teams of the most important 10 TV stations with national and local outreach, which were delivered by BBC-London. Public administration representatives (deputy prime ministers, top representatives from public/state institutions, other ministers, judges, EU countries ambassadors) participated in the discussions with the journalists about the models of improving the process of transparency and accountability at all levels of state functioning in the country.

As an outcome of the training, 30 investigative stories were aired/published in the media, including the highest-rated news editions on national TV stations in the country. 

Donor: British Embassy

Description: Purpose of the project was to support the implementation of the Law for free access to public information and to strengthen the capacities of the public administration to communicate professionally with the media and with the public and to contribute to increasing the economic and political transparency and accountability.

Within this project, MIM has trained over 1000 public officers responsible for dealing with public information within their institutions.

Also, MIM produced and published 3 publications:

–          “Public Information Must Be Disclosed, Not Held”

–          “Access to Public Information Is Free”

–          “List of Holders of Public Information in the Republic of Macedonia”

Donor: MATRA programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Netherlands

Description: MIM and its partners the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis”-Skopje and the European Journalism Centre, NL in cooperation with the Macedonian Ministry of Education and Science and Bureau of Education Development, implemented 3-year project on Media Literacy, that is envisioned to become part of the curricula of mother tongue subject in the primary and secondary education in Macedonia. In that order, a total of 56 trainings were organized and almost 1.100 teachers across Macedonia were trained, the website on media literacy was created and launched; a conference on media literacy was organized in Skopje and Media Literacy Teachers’ textbook was published.  

Donor: Fridrich Ebert Stiftung

Description: During these two years, MIM and SJPR produced and published 3 analysis on specific issues important for the media sphere in Macedonia:
– “Analysis of the situation with the media of ethnic communities in the Republic of Macedonia” – mapping situation with providing of cultural pluralism in the media sphere in Macedonia, possibilities of active access to media content for ethnic communities, as well as problems that ethnic communities media face;
– “Analysis of the issue of self-regulation in the media in Macedonia” – the functions and importance of media self-regulation; its use as a substitute for judicial proceedings regarding the media content; the differences between regulation and self-regulation of the media; the forms of media self-regulation and financing forms as well as the experiences with media self-regulation in Macedonia; Identifying good practices of self-regulation and encouraging introduction of various forms of self-regulation; Recommendations for further actions for strengthening the principle of self-regulation in the media in Macedonia are given at the end of the document.
– “Analysis of the Public Broadcasting in the Republic of Macedonia in the Context of the European Media Policy”, focused on following questions: – Does MRT fulfill its mission and program functions as a Public Broadcasting Service? Does the manner of financing imply independent and successful MRT operation as a Public Broadcasting Service? Does the model of management and supervision of MRT, as specified by law, correspond to the European standards and does it provide for its efficient and independent functioning? Which are the perspectives of MRT within the current digitalisation process of the terrestrial television?

Donor: European Commission

Description: MIM in cooperation with TV Kanal 5(national-based TV) produced and aired 21 episodes of the quiz show “Europe go (Odime vo EU)”.