CEI SEEMO AWARD 2024
PRESS RELEASE
CEI SEEMO AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MERITS IN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM 2024: WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Awarding ceremony at South East Europe Media Forum 27 November 2024 (18:15-18:30), Podgorica, Montenegro Hotel Voco
Highlighting the role of investigative journalism in raising public awareness of critical issues in the environment, agriculture/food security, and health sectors was the main objective of this year’s edition of the CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism. Special attention was given to stories advocating for transparency and good governance as regards practices, procedures, and funding.
An international jury evaluated the remarkable applications submitted, considering the relevance of the matters covered by the journalistic works; the quality of reporting in terms of documentation, data, writing and production; and the impact on society of the messages conveyed. As a result, the following winners have been selected and will be officially awarded during the South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF) taking place in Podgorica, Montenegro, on 27-28 November 2024:
- Adrian Mogoş (Romania) – category “Professional journalists”
- Dino Cviko (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Giorgio Michalopoulos (Italy) ex aequo – category “Young Professional journalists”
Adrian Mogoş is a freelance journalist and founder of the media platform newsromania.net. With extensive experience in investigative reporting as editor for the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Jurnalul National daily, but also accredited as a researcher with the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives, Mogos has devoted many investigations to critical environmental issues and has actively participated in regional investigative projects. Currently, he is running a cross-border journalistic project on illegal waste trade within Europe whose website (deseuri.newsromania.net) includes a valuable interactive map, created by geo-spatial.org, based on the data collected during the research which could represent a useful tool for future media projects. The jury recognised the high professional standards of Mogos’ work, his courageous endeavour and great commitment in raising public awareness on important questions, especially considering the difficult working conditions for a freelance journalist and the limited budget available in a complex media landscape. His work represents an excellent example for the young generation of investigative journalists.
Dino Cviko works as investigative journalist for the online magazine Žurnal from Bosnia and Herzegovina with a focus on in-depth research and disclosure of major social and political issues. Among the numerous investigations, Cviko produced the documentary “Battle for Life: System Against Oncology Patients” raising a critical question related to the waiting lists for oncology treatment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. With this work, he gave voice to one of the most vulnerable groups in society providing a comprehensive and reliable report having a strong impact on the healthcare system. The jury praised his work especially for the accurate research and data collection revealing the problems, challenges and needs not only of the affected people, but also of the other actors involved.
Giorgio Michalopoulos is a freelance investigative journalist working for various European media.
Over the last three years, together with his team member Stefano Valentino, he has carried out major investigative works focusing on greenwashing practices, disclosing the threats and risks especially as regards the impact on the actors involved. The stories were published on Voxeurop and reached a wide audience across Europe through co-production and partnerships with major media outlets, thus contributing to raising public awareness on a topical environmental question undermining the global efforts towards sustainability. The jury acknowledged the quality of Michalopoulos’s work and greatly valued its cross-border dimension.
Considering the outstanding quality of the candidatures, the jury decided to assign the following special mentions to:
Taras Zozulinskyy (Ukraine) from Detectives and Cornelia Cozonac (Moldova) from the Center for Investigative Journalism from Moldova
Elvin Luku (Albania) from MediaLook
Saša Dragoljo (Serbia) from Balkan Insight/BIRN, Belgrade
Jovana Georgievski (Serbia) from BBC News Serbian
Ivana Milosavljević (Serbia) from the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia-CINS
The submitted candidatures were evaluated by an independent jury composed of: Saša Leković (Croatia), freelance journalist, investigative reporting trainer; Goran Đurović (Montenegro), director, Media Centre NGO; Marina Constantinoiu (Romania), editor Digi24.ro; Federico Caruso (Italy), journalist at Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa; Jure Tepina (Slovenia), editor in chief 24ur.com PRO PLUS, d.o.o; with the coordination of Barbara Fabro (CEI) and Oliver Vujovic (SEEMO).
The CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism, promoted by the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), is meant to promote high-quality investigative journalism and acknowledge the efforts of investigative journalists often working under difficult conditions in the context of threats to media freedom and personal safety.
Adrian Mogoş is a freelance journalist and founder of the media platform newsromania.net. With extensive experience in investigative reporting as editor for the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Jurnalul National daily, but also accredited as a researcher with the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives, Mogos has devoted many investigations to critical environmental issues and has actively participated in regional investigative projects. Currently, he is running a cross-border journalistic project on illegal waste trade within Europe whose website (deseuri.newsromania.net) includes a valuable interactive map, created by geo-spatial.org, based on the data collected during the research which could represent a useful tool for future media projects. The jury recognised the high professional standards of Mogos’ work, his courageous endeavour and great commitment in raising public awareness on important questions, especially considering the difficult working conditions for a freelance journalist and the limited budget available in a complex media landscape. His work represents an excellent example for the young generation of investigative journalists.
06/05/2019 – CURRENT Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Journalist Online magazine Žurnal
– writing investigative journalistic articles
– producing documentary films
01/06/2016 – 01/05/2019 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Realisator of the daily program Federal television of BiH
– Managing and broadcasting the daily television program
01/07/2015 – 31/10/2016 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
TV Journalist Federal television of BiH
– producing TV, journalistic segments
08/06/2014 – 31/05/2016 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Video wall operator Federal television of BiH
– video wall operator in Studio “D”
13/08/2013 – 31/05/2016 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Online journalist Federal television of BiH
– writing journalistic content
– processing and publication of agency news
Investigative journalist, media researcher and lecturer of Journalism and Communication. Mr. Luku received the scientific title “Associate Professor” in January 30, 2024 by the University of Tirana. Since November 2016 he holds a PhD in the field of media studies, focused in TV talk Shows in Albania. He is the author of the book “Talk Show: In and behind scenes”. The author has been working for more than 17 years as a
journalist and news editor in television, print and online media. Since 2018, he has been engaged with a series of investigative articles at MediaLook (www.medialook.al), where he holds the position of editor in chief. In 2021, The Union of Albanian Journalists awarded the “Vangjus Gambeta” price to Elvin Luku for his investigation about “The Luxury Car Smuggling Scheme.
Freelance Journalist
I collaborate with various european media, especially Voxeurop, as an investigative journalist. I conduct investigations on greenwashing through award-winning investigations on green finance that contribute to raise public awareness on the flaws of the regulatory system and the market practices which turn the flaunted protection of the environment into a subtle tool to make profits, undermining the global efforts towards the sustainable transition of our economy. These works have been published on various European media including The Guardian, Mediapart, Expresso, Domani Editoriale, Info Libre, Der Tagesspiegel, Nacional.
One of my transnational investigations on european sustainable finance regulation, showed greenwashing practices from a big italian asset manager, was published in five languages on Voxeurop and won the prestigious journalistic award “Covering Climate Now” 2024. Our latest investigation “How big finance greenwashes climate crisis culprits” recently won the the “Climate Misinformation Award” by the European Journalism Center.
PhD Scholar
I am a PhD scholar in economics at the Center for Development and Regional Planning at the Federal (CEDEPLAR) University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Work experience
• Journalist and Fact-Checker – Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia CINS (apr 2023 – date)
• Journalist and Digital Marketing Manager – CINS (jul 2022 – apr 2023)
• Internship at CINS (mar – jul 2022)
• Executive Editor – portal Talas.rs (apr – oct 2021)
• Outreach coordinator and social media manager – Center for social dialogue and regional initiatives (jan 2020 – jun 2021)
• Project coordinator – Popular democracy – University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences and Westminster Foundation for Democracy (mar 2019 – dec 2020)
Journalist
BBC Serbian Service [ 14/03/2020 – Current ]City: Belgrade | Country: Serbia
My responsibilities include covering breaking and developing stories in the Balkans region, news and feature writing, field reporting, and producing and editing short digital videos and explainers. For the past six months, my duties have also included producing text pieces for World Service Languages, providing original stories that can be
reversioned for the all the BBC language services.
In 2022-2023, I presented the BBC Eye Investigations documentary ‘Blood Brothers – The pro-Russian Serbians’. In 2024, I produced my second documentary “Kosovo Women Searching for Their Missing, 25 years on” for the the BBC
100 Women.
I have contributed to BBC World Service’s programmes, such as Newsnight (Belgrade Producer), Witness History and Weekend. Fluent in Russian, I occasionally contribute to the BBC Russian Service by producing text pieces, scripting and delivering podcasts.
Balkan Correspondent (Belgrade-based)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – Russian Service [ 31/05/2019 – 14/03/2020 ]City: Prague | Country: Czechia
As foreign correspondent for RFE/RL’ s Russian Service, I covered breaking and developing news stories from the Balkans, delivering them for Russian audience. I covered political, military, economic and cultural cooperation between Russia and Serbia. My responsibilities included producing news, feature and analytical pieces for digital and radio, as well as writing a monthly opinion column.
Regional Correspondent (Belgrade-based)
Kosovo 2.0 [ 31/01/2018 – 14/03/2020 ]City: Pristhina
I produced mostly in-depth stories on migration, politics, grass-root initiatives and culture in Serbian and English. In 2019-2020, I produced a documentary about refugees and migrats on the Balkan route (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Serbia).
News Editor
European Western Balkans Portal [ 31/10/2019 – 14/03/2020 ]City: Belgrade | Country: Serbia
As a news and content editor at the European Western Balkans Portal, I was responsible for overseeing newsgathering and digital output for the EWB’s Serbian and English website. My duties involved assigning stories to other team members, supervising their work and curating the weekly newsletter
Journalist
Vreme Weekly [ 30/04/2019 – 14/03/2020 ]City: Belgrade | Country: Serbia
As a staff journalist for Vreme, I focused on producing news stories and features for our weekly issue, with special focus on culture and foreign affairs. My duties also included conveying interviews for the political and culture section.
Fellow Journalist Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertly [ 31/10/2018 – 29/06/2019 ]City: Prague | Country: Czechia
During this Prague-based fellowship, I produced content for RFE’s Balkan and Russian Service digital platforms. The fellowship was an amazing training and development opportunity, which helped me deepen my understanding of writing short and long form for digital output, as well as video and radio production.
Journalist/writer
E-novine – 2011-2012
Journalist/researcher – 05/2015 to 09/2016
Balkan Insight/BIRN, Belgrade
· Offering ideas for stories;
· Wrote, edited and produced stories for multiple platforms, including Internet and digital channels.
· Performed research and checked all facts to maintain high standard of journalistic integrity of in-depth
investigations.
Journalist/researcher – 09/2016 to 08/2019
Insajder Production, Belgrade
· Production of news, analyses, and features on daily basis;
· Conduction investigations;
· Conducting interviews;
· Selection of news, analyses, and investigations to be published in English for the international audience;
· Translation and editing of news, analyses, and investigations for the international audience;
· Offering ideas for stories;
· Participation in production of Insajder’s investigations for TV broadcast.
Journalist/editor – 05/2020-today
Balkan Insight/BIRN, Belgrade
Ukrainan investigative journalist. He has been documenting the war crimes of the Russian aggression – within the framework Global initiative Tribunal for Putin. He is working for https://detectives.org.ua/
· 2021 – 2017 – Bureau of Journalistic Investigations “Detectives”; Media-corporation «VseMedia»;
· 2016 – journalist – freelance – TV Channel “1+1”, “2+2” – projects Investigative Journalism;
· 2016 – internship in Moldova – “Center for Investigative Journalism in Moldova”;
· 2013 – 2015 – correspondent – TV Channel “ZIK” – projects Investigative Journalism;
· 2012 – 2013 – editor of special projects – the newspaper “Ekspres”;
· 2012 – reporter – TV Company “Lviv-TB”;
· 2010 – 2011 – correspondent – “Agency for Journalistic Investigations” Informant “;
· 2009 – 2013 – freelancer: – 1/ “Mirror of the Week” (department of law), 2/ “Ukrainian Week” (Investigations Division), 3/ Newspaper of investigative journalism “ZIK”, 4/“Legal Bulletin of Ukraine”, 5/ “Lviv newspaper”.
CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 2024
The CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism is meant to promote high-quality investigative journalism and acknowledge the efforts of investigative journalists often working under difficult conditions in the context of threats to media freedom and personal safety.
FOCUS 2024
This year’s Award seeks to highlight the role of investigative journalism in raising public awareness of critical issues in the agriculture/food security, environment, and health sectors, with the aim of advocating for transparency and good governance as regards practices, procedures, funding.
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
The Call is open to nationals of CEI Member States: Albania, Belarus¹ , Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.
The Award is divided into two categories:
1. PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS 4,000 EUR
2. YOUNG PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS (born on/after 1994) 1,000 EUR
Category 1: candidates who have been actively involved in investigative reporting over the last three years and are still active in journalism. Two samples of journalistic work will be relevant for the evaluation from the jury.
Category 2: candidates who have been actively involved in investigative reporting, even in the context of training activities organised by schools/ universities/ NGOs and, as a result, should have published at least one investigative story meeting all professional standards. One sample of journalistic work will be relevant for the evaluation from the jury.
Print, Radio, TV, news agencies and Internet media are admitted.
¹Suspended
HOW TO APPLY
Candidates shall fill in the Online Application Form available here: https://www.cei.int/contact/application_cei_seemo
The following documents in PDF format shall be uploaded:
1. Curriculum vitae (in English).
2. Recommendation letter (in English) written and signed by trustworthy individuals, journalism and media organisations, media companies, civil society organisations, journalism schools or universities, trade unions or other social organisations from the target countries.
3. Up to three samples of journalistic work in a single PDF document (minimum two samples in Category 1, one sample in Category 2). For online work samples, insert hyperlinks in a PDF document, or print out online articles in a PDF file. Hyperlinks need to be accessible by 15 December 2024. In the case of audio/video material, please upload the files making use of file-sharing services (e.g. WeTransfer or Dropbox) including a script or scenario. Material prepared in local languages should be accompanied by a short summary in English.
Applications that do not include all requested documentation will not be considered.
DEADLINE
Applications shall be submitted by 31 July 2024 (23:59 CEST).
SELECTION
Applications will be examined by an international jury composed of distinguished journalists and media experts from the region, which may also include winners of previous editions of the Award. The awarding ceremony will take place during the South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF) to be held in Podgorica, Montenegro, on 27 November 2024.
The jury will take into account the relevance of the matters covered by the reports, which should have a focus on the target countries as well as the quality of reporting in terms of documentation, data, writing and production. The personal risks taken while performing the duties as well as the impact on society of the messages conveyed will also be evaluated.
FOR INFORMATION