The Serbian lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) magazine “Optimist” (https://www.optimist.rs/) has expressed concerns about its potential closure, highlighting the absence of support from Serbia’s Ministry of Information and Telecommunications.
First number of Optimist was published in June 2011. Editor in chief of the magazine is Predrag Azdejković, a fighter for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Serbia.
“Optimist” has issued a warning about the imminent danger to its existence as the sole LGBT media outlet in Serbia and the surrounding region. This threat emerged following the alleged decision by the Ministry not to back its initiative, “Thirty Years Since the Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Serbia.”
Consequently, “Optimist” has declared that its future remains uncertain without proper financial support. The magazine has urged the Ministry of Information and Minister to devise a solution to avert its shutdown.
The magazine also underscored the unequal treatment, noting that media outlets for other minority groups are safeguarded from closure through dedicated grants at the national, local, and provincial levels. In contrast, LGBT media outlets depend on the discretion of the commission members who review their projects.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is extending its full support to the LGBT magazine “Optimist” and will be closely monitoring the situation to ensure that the media outlet receives the necessary backing to continue its operations. SEEMO emphasizes the importance of supporting the only regular LGBT media outlet in Serbia and stands in solidarity with “Optimist” in light of the recent report and recommendations from the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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