Together with the long-standing KAS partner SEECOM, the South East Europe Public Sector Communication Association, the KAS Media Programme for South East Europe organized the conference. Guests of KAS-SEECOM 2023 were again government spokespersons, communication experts and journalists from the entire South East European region, who discussed the current opportunities and challenges of political communication together with experts from Germany and Brussels.
Hendrik Sittig, Head of the KAS Media Programme South East Europe, and Ognian Zlatev, SEECOM Chairman and Head of the European Commission Representation in Croatia, opened the conference. They spoke about the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and described it as aggression against democracy. Disinformation in the different countries of Europe was also a topic. In such times, they said, it is especially important for governments and the media to be as transparent as possible in order to reduce the insecurity of the population. On the part of the host country Bosnia and Herzegovina, Duška Jurišić welcomed the participants in her position as Deputy Minister for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The last few years had been years of crisis and the country has faced a lot of challenges. But she was convinced that Europe must work together to overcome the past years and become stronger. Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council for South Eastern Europe, based in Sarajevo, quoted a survey that about one in two Bosnians perceived disinformation as a threat and 63 per cent did not trust the media. But, she asked, how can one create an environment of trust if the population does not believe in the media. Mirjana Ivanovic (SEECOM Secretary General) moderated the entire conference.
The first panel was followed by a discussion on the question of who sets the narratives in the public communication discourse in South East Europe. The participants were Dr Peter Frey (former Editor-in-Chief of ZDF), Igor Zaharov (spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Chişinău), Yvo Bojkov (city councillor in Sofia) and Dinka Živalj (spokesperson for the city of Zagreb). The panel was moderated by Leila Bičakčić (director and co-founder of the Centre for Investigative Reporting CIN in Sarajevo). The debates focused on how the government and the media have dealt with the past years of crisis and what measures need to be taken to regain the trust of the citizens. All agreed on one point: the government as well as the media should show more presence in the social networks.
A highlight of the conference was the presentation by Juri Schnöller (political consultant and campaign expert, Cosmonauts & Kings agency, Berlin). He spoke about election campaigns in times of crisis and how artificial intelligence can change them.
In the second panel Dr Kristijan Sedan (Institute of Communication Sciences, Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb), Aleksandar Klarić (Secretary General of the Parliament of Montenegro, Podgorica), Daniela Munteanu (Strategic Analyst, Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre, Bucharest) and Sokol Shameti (Media Advisor of the Ombudsman's Office in Albania, Tirana) discussed successful practices and experiences of public sector communication in uncertain times. The panel was moderated by Christian Spahr (Secretary General of the Assembly of European Regions, Brussels). Among other things, they agreed that the Russian war in Ukraine had brought new momentum to the EU integration process and that certain countries were helping each other.
The panel was followed by the so-called traditional Un-Conference, which serves as a moderated but free exchange between press officers and journalists. The aim was to reduce prejudices between the two professions and prevent misunderstandings. Moderated by Katerina Sinadinovska (President of the Council for Media Ethics, North Macedonia) and Vuk Vujnović (SEECOM member), a lively debate ensued about the cooperation between press spokespersons and journalists, whether friendships may be cultivated among each other and to what extent lies of any kind are permitted.