How two journalists are turning around the Serbian-Albanian narrative
Last autumn two journalists from Belgrade and Tirana agreed to engage in a cross-cultural experiment proposed by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Albanian Embassy in Belgrade. Between September and December they exchanged 12 texts, published simultaneously in Serbian and Albanian dailies, that resolutely buck the trend of negative media narratives depicting Serbs and Albanians as antagonists.
Contesting prejudice
In spite of improved relations between Serbia and Albania, prejudices still burden relations between the two societies, reflected in both countries’ media. In a crucial period for Belgrade and Tirana, the OSCE Mission to Serbia supported a forward-looking proposal by the Albanian Embassy: to kick-start a more constructive public discussion by offering an open platform to two prominent journalists, one from each country.
The Belgrade daily Danas agreed to take part in the project and proposed former editor-in-chief Zoran Panovic as the Serbian discussion partner. The Albanian Embassy secured the participation of the Tirana daily Mapo and asked well-known press and TV journalist Mustafa Nano if he would agree to be Panovic’s Albanian counterpart.
“I didn’t think twice about exchanging thoughts with my Serbian colleague,” said Nano (external link). “I felt like I was invited to participate in a pioneering adventure. Intellectual curiosity for communicating with a colleague from Belgrade was much stronger than any qualms.” Panovic expressed a similar sentiment.
After a face-to-face meeting in Tirana arranged by the Mission, the journalists commenced their public exchange, which appeared for 12 weeks in both papers.
Groundbreaking exchange
What did Nano and Panovic write about? Everyday life, political issues, historical disputes, anything they cared about, never shying away from controversy. They compared perspectives on the 15th century figure Skanderbeg, the Albanian military commander who first fought for, then led a rebellion against, the Ottoman Empire. They explained their respective views on Kosovo. And they shared their takes on the infamous football incident in October 2014, during the Euro 2016 qualifying match between Serbia and Albania, when a drone quadcopter carrying an Albanian nationalist banner with an image of Greater Albania appeared on the pitch.
“The only way to give this corner of the world a chance for peace is to let intellectuals – scientists, academics, writers and artists – undergo a kind of catharsis,” Nano explained.
It may be hard for people to understand, but the motive behind our correspondence is essentially curiosity and a desire for dialogue, without any ambition – as I expect you agree – to make presumptions about some big agreement between our two nations after all the brutality of hatred and crime.
“It may be hard for people to understand, but the motive behind our correspondence is essentially curiosity and a desire for dialogue, without any ambition – as I expect you agree – to make presumptions about some big agreement between our two nations after all the brutality of hatred and crime,” wrote Panovic.
The multiplying effect
The articles caused quite a stir in both Albanian and Serbian communities. They were widely republished in both languages, in Belgrade, Tirana, Pristina, southern Serbia (including Preševo and Bujanovac), and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The appreciation with which the professionally written pieces were met in both communities showed that there is a role for traditional print media in connecting communities. While social media interaction is sometimes limited by language barriers, the newspaper articles, professionally translated, were easily transferred into blogs or other formats accessible to diverse audiences.
To conclude their experiment, Panovic and Nano met once more, in Belgrade. This time it was not just for a personal meeting, but to bring their exchange, which up until then had been only in writing, to a new level. For the first time, they appeared together in a public event, organized by the Austrian Embassy in the framework of the Austrian 2017 OSCE Chairmanship. Diplomats, journalists and students joined in a lively cross-cultural discussion.
“We are very pleased that this project attracted the attention of the public in both countries, said Andrea Orizio, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. “It embodies a spirit of regional co-operation between two societies that know little about one another.”
Improved mutual understanding between Serbian and Albanian communities is of decisive importance for overcoming the legacy of the past that still influences regional communication and views. The OSCE Mission has decided to continue supporting the exchanges of journalists from Serbia and Albania. In co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania, it intends to expand the initiative by involving other interested stakeholder, public service broadcasters, journalism schools and student organizations.
”The OSCE Mission to Serbia is committed to promoting people-to-people contacts and developing constructive narratives. Journalists and the media play a vital role in this process. They have the power to formally and informally construct new dialogues and help societies focus on their similarities rather than their differences,” Orizio concluded.