OSCE helps Serbian municipal officials and journalists improve communication to ease access to information
BELGRADE, 6 November 2008 - Fostering effective ties between municipal officials and journalists to increase the public's access to information is the purpose of a two-day OSCE training seminar that started in Belgrade today.
"Stronger and more principled links between municipal bodies and journalists will help improve media coverage of community affairs and increase public trust in both the authorities and the media," said Anthony Pahigian, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.
The seminar, jointly organized by the OSCE Mission and the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, brings together 29 participants from across the country. International and local experts will conduct sessions on the technical, legal and ethical principles of interaction between municipal officials and journalists, as well as global standards related to access to information.
Alexander Boldyrev, the Senior Adviser of the OSCE media freedom representative, added: "We hope that this event will encourage professional dialogue between state authorities and journalists to achieve good co-operation. Journalists can then better convey information on matters of public interest, enabling citizens to participate more in decision-making processes."
The Belgrade event is the first of its kind in the South-Eastern Europe. The Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media has held more than a dozen similar seminars in other parts of the OSCE region since 2005.