|
Budget |
€ 81 860
|
|
Funding |
Voluntary contributions, ordinary budget
|
|
Implementation |
Media Section (Directorate of Co-operation, Directorate
General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs)
|
|
Duration |
1 February – 15 November 2010
|
|
Objective |
General objective:
To assist Bosnia and Herzegovina in conducting the 3 October general
elections in line with the international standards on the matter.
Media component:
To assist with measures to achieve fair, balanced and impartial media
coverage of the election campaign.
|
|
Activities and results in 2009 |
The monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign conducted by a
professional association started on 3 September and terminated on 1
October. Press conferences were held at the beginning of the official
campaign to announce the launching of the monitoring and mid-campaign to
present the results of the interim reports. The closing conferences were
organised in Sarajevo (19 October) and in Banja Luka (20 October). At a
conference in Neum on 5-6 November, participants discussed the final
monitoring report and agreed on recommendations for future elections.
Council of Europe standards regarding media independence and election
coverage were presented to journalists and members of political parties
during two conferences held in Sarajevo (11 May) and Neum (30 June - 1
July).
Four workshops on the fair and balanced media coverage of election
campaigns for journalists from print and electronic media were organised.
Journalists and news editors took part in a study visit to North-Rhein
Westphalia from 4 to 11 May to gain first-hand experience on the local
elections held there.
|
|
Assessment and follow up |
An important achievement of the project was that it
raised the awareness mainly of media professionals but also of public
authorities and the general public of the importance and the substance
of fair, balanced and impartial media coverage of election campaigns.
Local media professionals’ associations have taken ownership of these
issues and are planning a systematic efforts to continue training
journalists on the fair and balanced coverage of elections. The Council
of Europe will provide assistance within the limits of its resources. |
Ukraine