bianet Attends European Parliament Session on Charlie Hebdo

Safety Net for European Journalists, a project aimed to monitor media freedom violations  in Italy, South East Europe and Turkey throughout the year of 2014, had its final meeting in Bruxelles with a session entitled “Je suis Charlie. Media Freedom in the EU and South Eastern Europe”. 

Held in European Parliament, the session included EP members Tanja Fajon, Ivo Vajgl as well as Turkey rapporteur Kati Piri and project manager Luisa Chiodi  as keynote speakers under the moderation of EP Interim President Ulrike Lunacek. 

While the session focused on the results of the project, its participants also concluded that while Charlie Hebdo attacks showed the impossibility of isolating journalists and media workers from pressures on a regional and global level, media freedom could only be established through safety networks for journalists. 

The session also emphasized on the kind of actions EU institutions and governments must take and the importance of a regional-scaled methodology and criteria to monitor attacks on journalists and freedom of expression violations  which would not only aim to compare data but create a solidarity and collective reaction. 

Financed by European Commission Directorate General for Communications Networks and coordinated by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso (OBC),  Ossigeno Informazione and Southeastern Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), the project had the following partners: H-Alter (Croatia), The Press Project (Greece), Vijesti (Montenegro), Mediapool (Bulgaria), Dilema Veche (Romania), Dnevnik (Slovenia), Radio Popolare (Italy), 24 Vesti (Macedonia), Beta (Serbia) and bianet (Turkey). (EG/BM)

* Click here to access the summary report of the project. 

 * Click here to access the guidelines for journalists working under dangerous conditions drafted during the project. 

This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso and its partners and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The project's page: Safety Net for European Journalists. A Transnational Support Network for Media Freedom in Italy and South-east Europe. 

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.