What we do

One of SEEMO’s main activities is protecting press freedom by helping journalists and media outlets in South East Europe. Over 60 per cent of SEEMO’s press releases and letters of protest to governmental and other officials have had positive results in the past. Every SEEMO protest is distributed to leading regional and international media, national and international governmental and non-governmental organisations, politicians, and also public persons and institutions.

In the past, SEEMO has provided direct help to journalists in the region by giving them technical equipment and other assistance. SEEMO also provided the necessary aid to journalists, who received death threats.

SEEMO actively cooperates with international, regional and national governmental and non-governmental organisations and institutions. SEEMO also actively cooperates with other international press freedom and media organisations, and it supports and participates in joint regional and international projects and activities. With partners, SEEMO has organised seminars and conferences promoting European values and ideas (2003, 2004, 2005), ecological philosophy and better transport possibilities in the region (Belgrade 2002 and 2004, Athens 2003 and 2004, Trieste 2004, Sarajevo 2004), a regional conference on investigative reporting (2002), a regional conference on minorities (2002), two conferences for editors-in-chief, media executives and leading journalists of Roma media in the region (2003), two conferences of editors-in-chief, media executives and leading journalists of Vlachian – Aromanian media in South East Europe (2004), several conferences on press freedom, the legal situation of media, relations between media and politicians, the public role of parliamentarians, access to information, the right to secrecy of information sources, teaching public relations and communications for governmental officials, Media and tolerance Conference (2004) etc.

Helping journalists means also furthering their education. Several workshops and seminars were organised in the field of education, especially for investigative reporters and representatives of minority media. The minority media workshops and seminars took place at the SEEMO Media Minority Center (MMC) in Opatija, Croatia.

SEEMO regularly publishes De Scripto, a quarterly media magazine for South East Europe, and the South East Europe Media Handbook (SMH), an annual publication covering media developments, which includes selected media contacts.

SEEMO also gives awards for outstanding achievements in the field of media: the "Dr Erhard Busek SEEMO Award for Better Understanding" and the SEEMO Human Rights Award "SEEMO Award for Mutual Cooperation in South East Europe"