The main motivation for taking part in the Media for All project was the potential of the training sessions and the workshops.
In Vidi Vaka, we tend to place the focus of our stories on finding solutions for the specific issues we are working on. Mainly, we work on stories which are not represented in most of the media, and we want to prioritise finding solutions for the issues in these stories in the future. Therefore, the training was very important to me – it helped me understand how to put more effort into finding the perfect model for a solution, i.e. that the goal is not just giving an idea for a solution, but more in-depth work on the essence, to identify the problem and its cause, to understand whether change can be achieved, to identify the possible obstacles and to offer concrete solution. The training provided me with new interview techniques I can use with my interlocutors, and it taught me how to choose whom to speak to. When it comes to global world problems, in my opinion it is very important to get acquainted with the experiences of colleagues from other countries, in order to improve one’s journalistic reporting and share different experiences. There is always room for improving our stories, in order to actively contribute to finding solutions to systemic problems, especially in a society such as ours.
The workshops helped me with my work in the sense that now I think more about whom I should include in my stories, i.e.whom I should ask for answers about certain topics and whether there is equal gender representation, because previously I did not take that segment much into consideration. Therefore, as journalists, we can have an insight into how many key positions and how many institutions women are represented in.
The workshop on gender disinformation taught me that disinformation rests on false or misleading gender-based information against women, with the purpose of discrediting women and girls. Often the audience does not notice disinformation and it cannot recognise it when it is served up in the mass media, and it becomes more and more frequent. Hence, the media needs to work harder to recognise gender disinformation, as well as to work towards eradicating it if we want an equal society.
These kinds of programmes are important for young professionals – not only for the financial aspect, but also for gaining new and different skills and experience. Furthermore, these study programmes and workshops provide a quick way of establishing a network of young professional journalists from the Balkans, which contributes to gaining new experiences and insights into other people’s perceptions.