Where We Work

Europe

Internews has worked in Europe since 1993 to improve access to information and foster independent media. Today this work continues under the auspices of the following Internews International members: the California-based Internews Network, the Paris-based Internews Europe, the Sarajevo-based Internews Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Prishtina-based Internews Kosovo.

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Significant current projects include bringing French journalists into some of the roughest schools in the Paris suburbs, promoting e-government solutions in Macedonia, and training Bosnian college students in journalism skills. Major past projects have included broadcasting the proceedings of the United Nations war crimes tribunal for Yugoslavia, co-producing the documentary series "Vis à Vis" which linked people divided by geography and politics, and supporting the reconstruction of independent media in post-war Bosnia.

France

Internews Europe, formed in 1996 and based in Paris with an office in London, is a non-governmental organization incorporated in France that has established media development programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Russia.

As part of Internews Europe’s “Passerelles” project, a group of teenagers from some of the worst areas in the French banlieue, or suburbs, were invited onto a program at Radio France Internationale to talk about their view of the French media. Photo: Internews Europe

In March 2006 Internews Europe launched its "Passerelles" (Bridges) project to build linkages between the world of professional media and that of the troubled Paris suburbs, torn by riots, ethnic and religious tensions, and economic frustration. French journalists visited some of the roughest schools in the country, presenting their profession and stimulating debate with the students, so these two universes could gain first-hand exposure to and understanding of each other.

Internews Europe currently also has several other projects outside Europe. These include strengthening radio journalism in Afghanistan and Palestine, harnessing the power of the media to combat HIV/AIDS in India and the Mekong Delta; reforming Internet and telecommunications policy in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and the former Soviet Union; and enabling local media to provide essential information after the tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia and the earthquake in northern Pakistan.

Internews Europe

Macedonia

As part of its mission of promoting access to information for people around the world, Internews has experience in planning and implementing e-government projects in countries as diverse as Romania, Kenya, and Madagascar. In the Republic of Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, Internews Network has a five-year project to increase transparency and efficiency in the public sector through e-government (e-Gov Project).

Funded by the US Agency for International Development, the e-Gov Project, which began in late 2004, has developed and implemented a number of innovative e-government solutions that use information technology to get government services and information online.

These include an e-procurement system, already in use by several Macedonian cities, that reduces the possibility of corruption and saves costs in government purchases of supplies and services. An Apply Online system for Macedonia's civil service agency has increased applications for these jobs five-fold, and improved trust in the objectivity of the selection process. Other e-government projects include e-tax filing for Macedonian companies and citizens, online training in information technology, and an e-health system to track and control the government's expenditures on prescription drugs, among other e-government applications.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Based in Sarajevo, Internews Bosnia and Herzegovina was a non-profit organization working in collaboration with other Internews offices and media support organizations to provide expert, professional, technical, and programming support to electronic and print media and production companies.

Since 1996 Internews B&H trained more than a thousand media professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina and implemented thousands of hours of hands-on, training at 90 media companies located in over 50 cities throughout the country.

Internews B&H produced a TV series that examined issues of environmental protection and management of natural resources, aiming to build public awareness of these issues.  A series of 24 ten-minute TV programs illustrated the situation in BiH in light of European environmental protection standards. The series was shot and broadcast throughout BiH.

In December 2000 Internews signed an agreement with the University of Sarajevo's Faculty of Political Science to provide practical training for students of the university’s School of Journalism. In the 2005-06 school year, the Internews Training Center trained 325 journalism students in print, television and radio journalism and photojournalism.

Kosovo

Internews began work in Kosovo shortly after the end of the NATO bombing in mid-1999, when Internews Kosovo was established in Prishtina. After a period of research, Internews assisted independent radio stations in Gjakova and Gjilane with equipment and training and helped a local publishing company in Peja establish a new independent radio station from the ground up to serve this important city.

In a large project funded by the European Commission, Internews Kosovo trained nearly 700 radio station employees, independent journalists and students of Prishtina University over the course of one year. Internews provided training in basic journalism, station management, Internet use, and reporting on conflict to groups of groups of ethnically diverse journalists.

Internews Kosovo currently co-produces a bi-weekly television debate program, Jeta ne Kosove (Life in Kosovo) together with BIRN Kosova and Crossing Bridges. The organization also has an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to produce six 30-minute TV documentaries on minority issues.

Internews International

Internews Network, Internews Europe, Internews Bosnia-Herzegovina and Internews Kosovo are among the 12 full members of Internews International, an umbrella organization based in Paris.

Internews' activities in Russia and Ukraine are described as part of our programs in Eurasia.