MEDIANet - strengthening independent media project, supportive of civil society, democracy and regional stability in Croatia and post-Yugoslav region.

Project duration: March 1st 2004 - August 31st 2005.

Project partners: ZaMirNET (lead organization), Faculty of the Political Sciences in Zagreb, STINA News Agency from Split.

Objectives:

- initiate and support small independent media initiatives in local communities

- help students of journalism understand what costitutes free, independent, professional journalism

- familiarize professional journalists with activists journalism and its tools and methodologies

- enable journalists and activists from community groups to improve their media skills and increase coverage of their issues

- forging of effective, innovative new projects and partnerships between media and NGOs

Target groups:

- students of journalism, young journalists and media activists (NGO representatives) from Croatia, Bosnia, and Serbia and Montenegro

Activities:

1. joint and thematic workshops for journalists and NGO media officers

- political courses, media skills courses, project skills courses

- radio workshops, online activism, video activism and documentary production

2. alternative media education and international networking conference Student Voice (www.fpzg.hr/student_voice/)

3. internships in NGOs for journalism students

4. production of an Activist Resource Book on Effective NGO-Media Relations

5. establishing of the Activist journalists' resource centers

Total project budget: 470.000EUR

Donors: European Comission, Olof Palme International Center, Balkan Trust for Democracy