ABOUT SEEMO

The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non-profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, news agencies and new media in South, East and Central Europe. With its committees, SEEMO aims to create a bridge between international media activities and the media developments in the region. SEEMO is a network that includes national and local committees in the region, including a special SEEMO project office in Belgrade and Vienna SEEMO-IPI and SEEMO-SECEMO.


SEEMO was founded in October 2000 in Zagreb, Croatia, by a group of leading editors-in-chief, media executives and professors of journalism and communications from South, East and Central Europe, in the presence of representatives of international institutions. One of SEEMO’s main activities is protecting press freedom by helping journalists and media outlets in South, East and Central Europe.


Over 60 per cent of SEEMO’s press releases and letters of protest to governmental and other officials have had positive results in the past. Every SEEMO protest is distributed to leading regional and international media, national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations, politicians and public persons and institutions. In the past, SEEMO has provided direct help to journalists in the region by giving them technical equipment, financial help and other assistance. SEEMO also provided necessary aid to journalists who received death threats or journalists who have been attacked. SEEMO has over 1500 editors-in-chief, media executives, media owners, media experts, professors for media and communication and leading journalists from South, East and Central Europe as individual members, and also media outlets and institutions as corporate members.


SEEMO monitors press freedom in South, East and Central Europe and responds to threats and attacks on journalists and media outlets by sending protest letters to governments, inter-governmental organisations, but also companies, religious organisations or some political or other groups. SEEMO leads press freedom missions to countries where press freedom is under threat, by meeting with government officials, diplomats, journalists and non-governmental organisations, and providing legal representation and support in court cases.


SEEMO organises regular press freedom visits to the countries it covers. Between January 2001 and December 2014, SEEMO has assembled over 16,000 editors-in-chief, media executives, leading journalists and public persons from the region in various meetings. Some of annual events organised by SEEMO are the South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF), Commission on Media Policy, Istanbul Media Days and Investigative Journalism Days. SEEMO sister organisations are International Academy – International Media Center (IA-IMC), International Academy (IA), International Media Center – Slovenia (IMC-SLO), South East and Central Europe PR Organisation (SECEPRO) and SECEMO. SEEMO actively cooperates with international, regional and national governmental and non-governmental organisations, foundations, media organisations, media associations, unions, and institutions.


Helping journalists also means furthering their education. SEEMO supports in different projects young journalists and students of media and communication. Since 2001 more than 50 workshops and seminars have been organised for investigative reporters and representatives of minority and diversity media. Since 2004, SEEMO has published De Scripto, a media magazine for South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO publishes the South, East and Central Europe Media Handbook. Several awards are presented annually by SEEMO, including the Dr Erhard Busek SEEMO Award for Better Understanding, honouring journalists in South, East and Central Europe whose work promotes a climate of better understanding among peoples in the region and strengthens efforts to end ethnic divisions, racism, and xenophobia, CEI-SEEMO Investigative Journalism Award and SEEMO Human Rights Award.


Contact: info@seemo.org, www.seemo.org.
SEEMO Secretary General: Oliver Vujovic