What prompted us to apply for the Validation Booster Programme within the Western Balkans Media for Change project is the opportunity we were given to present our idea, to improve it, but also to acquire new knowledge, enabling what we envisioned to achieve better passing popularity with the target audience.
With the support of this project, we as a medium have primarily gained new awareness in the field of marketing and product presentation to the public, specifically end users. This will also be useful for future projects, as well as for our work through the creation of stories and content for our magazine and portal. The key moment was indeed the mentoring meetings where we received practical information and guidance on the direction to take in order to better validate the idea itself.
Gracija Magazine has been on the market for 19 years, meaning we have gained a great deal of respect from the public, and a brand such as Gracija has engaged many generations through the magazine. As a result, we have become a family magazine for all generations, because on our pages everyone can find something for themselves. However, with this programme, we decided to focus on digital platforms and social networks, which is why we came up with the idea of a podcast that would and will promote the youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who have decided to build their careers within the borders of their country.
The young journalist Eldar Abaz is the host of this podcast – ‘The real face’. He already hosted Kenan Musić, director of the Youth Film Festival, in the first episode, which received great feedback from the audience, and we hope that the next episodes will get the same positive results as the first one.
The programmes like the ones available through the Western Balkans Media for Change project are very valuable because they give the media outlets, but also the individuals who are part of it, the opportunity to realise their ideas. These range from support in the form of mentoring to financial support, which is crucial for both the medium and the implementation of any project. Through such programmes, people really do get everything they need to successfully realise an idea, with the ultimate goal of creating quality content and enduring on the market.