The project Media 4 EU – Civil Society Program for the participation of media in North Macedonia’s EU membership negotiation is implemented by Eurothink – Center for European Strategies in partnership with ALDA and BIRS in the period from 01.03.2023 to 28.02.2026 with support from the European Union.
The main goal of the project is to upgrade the media capacities for covering, monitoring and examining the negotiation process for the membership of North Macedonia in the EU.
Specific objectives:
-To improve the environment for media participation in the EU membership negotiation process;
-To strengthen media professional capacities of journalists from non-EU countries, about EU regulations, policies and values and to improve opportunities for young journalists;
-To create an environment for networking activities with European colleagues and colleagues from the media sector, to support and improve media literacy and the diversity of the media landscape.
The project will begin with a kick-off event on March 29, at 12:00, at the Holiday Inn Hotel. The purpose of the meeting is, through the presentation of the project, to encourage cooperation between the media, civil society organizations and the relevant state institutions that will work in the negotiation processes of the country with the relevant institutions from the EU, as well as improving the quality of information and presenting the conditions and progress of North Macedonia towards the EU for the wider general public in the country.
At the event, the project team will present the basic elements of the project to the public and announce the call for cooperation with the media and media professionals, with civil institutions as well as the grant scheme.
On the importance of media and CSOs in the EU negotiation process of North Macedonia will be addressed by David Geer, EU Ambassador to North Macedonia and Bojan Maricic, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs.
Planned project activities within the framework of the project are the following:
-Research of public opinion on the media sector related to reporting on EU integrations of the Republic of North Macedonia;
-Trainings for the media to report on the integration process of the country in the 8 planning regions;
-Mentoring program for young journalists-interns;
-Two Schools of European Politics;
-Activities for networking media and journalists from the country with relevant media institutions from EU member states (study visits, focus groups and meetings);
-Grant scheme for NGOs and media from the 8 planning regions to bring the negotiation process of the Republic of North Macedonia with the EU closer to the citizens and their interests;
-Production of journalistic materials for EU structures; the negotiation process of the Republic of North Macedonia with the EU; the new negotiation methodology, etc.;
-Continuous communication with the media and the general audience about all activities and aspects of the project that are of interest and importance to the citizens.
