• ERNO secures funding for 3 cross-border media projects: media literacy for youth combating misinformation, TV stories on women's rights across five countries & a climate journalism collaboration

• Participating broadcasters from Southeast Europe include BHRT, RTS, RTCG, MRT, RTK, RTSH, RTV SLO, BNT, HRT & RTCG

• A collaborative project, all content will be accessible through ERNO exchange for EBU Members from March 2024

The Eurovision News Exchange for Southeast Europe (ERNO) has acquired additional funding for Public Service Media (PSM) in the region, paving the way for three impactful cross-border video production projects focusing on media literacy, women's rights, and climate journalism.

BHRT, RTS, RTCG, MRT, RTK, RTSH, RTV SLO, BNT, HRT and RTCG are actively participating in the co-productions, with all content set to be accessible to EBU Members via the ERNO exchange. The projects aim to elevate storytelling whilst contributing valuable insights to the collective knowledge of the EBU network.

Projects include:

"Empowering Youth to Combat Misinformation”

ERNO, in collaboration with UNESCO through funding from "Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans" project will train and support 18 young media creators from Western Balkans countries over six months. The “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans” (CC4WBs) is a project funded by the European Union that aims to foster dialogue in the Western Balkans by enhancing the cultural and creative sectors for increased socio-economic impact.

The media creators, equipped with mobile phones, will produce short video stories addressing misinformation's dangers and emphasizing fact-checking. The stories will be shared on the social media accounts of six PSMs in the region, targeting media literacy for young people. The goal is 72 video stories by year-end.

Coordinating TV Stories on Women’s Rights

In collaboration with UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina and supported by Sweden, ERNO coordinates TV stories across Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Led by a remarkable team of journalists, these stories will delve into women's rights and violence against women. Addressing the surge in cases since the COVID-19 pandemic, the project explores solutions and investigates the roots of these issues in Balkan societies. Coordinated through ERNO's news exchange, all five stories will be broadcast before International Women's Day 2024.

Journalismfund Europe Climate Journalism Collaboration

ERNO will collaborate with climate journalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia in a partnership that will produce a second round of stories on environmental protection by the end of March. Emphasising solutions, the stories will showcase successes and initiatives from neighboring EU countries, serving as practical guidelines for Western Balkan nations. Building on the first round of this series, which included seven 10-minute-long stories completed last year, this initiative strengthens ERNO's commitment to climate journalism collaboration.

The UNESCO Media Literacy project will begin production in May, rolling out on digital platforms by December 2024, whilst the women's rights co-production will be broadcast and exchanged within ERNO's network by March 8 this year. The Climate Journalism collaboration will be ready for broadcast and exchange by March 15 2024.