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Author: WeBalkans

Film excellence recognised with awards at Kosovo’s EU Film Festival

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The European Union Film Festival in Kosovo concluded with an award ceremony at Kino Armata in Pristina in the presence of film lovers and Juan Biurrun, the Deputy Head of the Political, Press and Information section of the EU Office in Kosovo. The best actress award was given to Eli Gashi for her role in the short film “A manual for breaking up”. Redon Kika’s documentary “I have never been on an airplane” won best short documentary, with the best short film award going to Loreta Berbatovci for “Daniel”.

 

The festival started on 21 July and lasted for nine days, during which Kosovars had a chance to enjoy both local and international movies. Screenings were organised online and in Priština/ Prishtina, North Mitrovica and Gjakova/Djakovica.

 

The European Film Festival is one of the most important events of European and world cinematography. With a tradition spanning over 30 years, the festival is held annually and is supported by the European Union and organised and supervised by CineEuropa.

EU supports workshop on writing stories on war crime victims’ experiences

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Ten participants from Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia attended BIRN’s three-day workshop on producing high-quality stories about the past centred on the experiences of war crime victims. The “Youth Memory Transfer” workshop held in Tuzla, Bosnia, from 25-29 July provided ten young people from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia with comprehensive training on fact-checking, storytelling and transitional justice reporting.

 

The workshop started with talks given by Marija Ristić, BIRN’s Regional Director, and Lamija Grebo, BIRN journalist, who shared with participants how to tell a story in compelling way while at the same time covering journalistic ethics and standards related to the reporting of war crimes, the culture of remembrance and other sensitive topics. The last day of the workshop was dedicated to interviews with survivors of the 1992-5 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After two days of preparations, group assignments and lessons, the participants interviewed ten people who had survived wartime atrocities from the Tuzla and Podrinje area.

 

This workshop is part of the Balkan Transitional Justice programme that aims to broaden public understanding of transitional justice issues in the former Yugoslavia, and is supported by RYCO within the fourth open call for project proposals co-financed by the European Union.

Ambassador Fabrizi met with Serbian Paralympians in training

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The Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Ambassador Sem Fabrizi, and the President of the Paralympic Committee of Serbia, Zoran Mićović, visited athletes training for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, which are to start on 24 August. Serbia’s delegation to Tokyo is made up of 20 athletes who will compete in seven paralympic sports.  
During the visit, Ambassador Fabrizi and President Mićović discussed the challenges faced by the paralympic athletes but also by the broader community of people with disabilities, especially in the pandemic, and the need for this community to be better integrated into society. At the end of the visit, Ambassador Fabrizi expressed his support forincreased partnership between the EU Delegation and the Paralympic Committee of Serbia.  
“In the EU, we passionately advocate and work for full inclusion of all vulnerable and marginalised groups. No–one must be left behind in modern democratic societies. In Serbia, the EU has been supporting people with disabilities through a number of projects, aimed both at erasing physical boundaries – such as ramps, accessibility of public facilities, equipping and adjusting schools – but also on awareness–raising and policy aspects in the field of education, sports and social inclusion,” said Ambassador Fabrizi.

EU steps up support to Corridor Vc in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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The European Union is stepping up its support for Corridor Vc, the key transport infrastructure project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with additional grant funding of €14.6 million. The funds will be used to finance the supervision of works contracts on five motorway sections that are financed with loans provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the grant funding will reimburse the supervision costs incurred by two motorway companies to date.
 
Corridor Vc is a pan-European transport project reconnecting the continent. The section in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be 325 kilometres long, crossing the country from north to south, eventually connecting the Adriatic port of Ploče in Croatia, and  with the Hungarian capital, Budapest. The motorway, which will bring Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the EU, is co-financed by loans from the EBRD and the European Investment Bank (EIB) and grant resources form the EU. To date, the EBRD has provided loans worth €850 million from its own resources, while investment and technical assistance grants extended by the EU have totalled over €220 million. The development of Corridor Vc is a strategic priority for Bosnia and Herzegovina and is expected to contribute to faster economic and social development. With 148 bridges and 46 tunnels, the motorway is currently the largest construction project in the country.