Young journalists from Western Balkans come together under OSCE Presence in Albania’s ‘Youth Trail’ to tackle media issues

Eighteen young journalists from the Western Balkans gathered in Tirana from 10 to 14 October 2021 to discuss media challenges across the region and brainstorm on ways of tackling them.

The event, called ‘Youth Trail’ is now a tradition of the OSCE Presence in Albania, which has been bringing together young people from the region since 2017 to connect and debate about democracy, security, peace and co-operation. This was the first time that ‘Youth Trail’ focused on one specific topic – the media – to concur with the OSCE’s 8th South East Europe Media Conference (SEEMC) that took place in Tirana on 11 and 12 October 2021.

The young journalists worked together to develop a document – Tirana Media Platform – where they recognized the importance and urgency of tackling some of the most pressing media issues, such as low ethical standards, limited self-regulation, low level of media literacy, fake news and disinformation, limited possibilities for gatekeeping, poor working conditions, and lack of safety and protection particularly for women journalists. On behalf of all Youth Trail participants, two of them – Ljubica Ivanova from North Macedonia and Lazar Convs from Serbia – presented the Platform at the SEEMC. They called upon the attention of state institutions, media and international organizations to their set of recommendations, and stressed that young journalists see themselves as part of the solution.

During their stay in Albania, the young journalists met, among others, Youth Minister, Bora Muzhaqi, Tirana Mayor, Erion Veliaj, General Director of National Youth Agency, Kleina Kasanai, Head of Journalism Department, Mark Marku, Secretary General of the Regional Youth Co-operation Office (RYCO), Albert Hani, Dutch Ambassador, Reinout Vos, as well as the OSCE Representative of Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, and Head of OSCE Presence Vincenzo Del Monaco.

They also visited the former political prison of Spaç and listened to testimonies from Albania’s communist past as a reminder that freedom and freedom of the media are not to be taken for granted.

The OSCE Presence in Albania organized 'Youth Trail 2021' with the support of the Austrian Development Agency, the embassies of Greece and Italy in Albania, and in co-operation with the Municipality of Tirana, RYCO, Tirana University’s Journalism Department, and other OSCE field operations in the region.