As the ultimate activity of the one-year-long project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity", ANEM has created for its stations a unique Guide for reporting on ethnic cultural diversities, in cooperation with its project partner, Faculty of political sciences, Belgrade. This Guide will, with its instructions and recommendations, additionally educate journalists of ANEM stations. The Guide is also designed to serve as a basis to all those who will treat these topics in the future.

The Guide includes the most important findings of the research - conducted by the research team of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, ANEM partner on the project, under the leadership of Snjezana Milivojevic, PhD, with the aim to establish fundamental characteristics of presenting selected ethnic groups in the media and to identify shortcomings of the habitual way of reporting on minority groups and the complex process of creating stereotypes of ethnic minority communities in Serbia by media, journalists as well as citizens - the public. Contained in the Guide are also Recommendations for media reporting on ethnic cultural diversities in Serbia - deriving from the research, they served as guidelines for selected production team of A-media to put together a new approach to these topics and to establish the concept of ANEM radio and TV series titled "Connecting". Finally, the Guide takes account of diverse experiences of the production team working on the realization of radio and TV series "Connecting" as part of the project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity".

The Guide for reporting on ethnic cultural diversities is available only to ANEM members and may be downloaded from ANEM Intranet.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

Aiming to promote the results of its project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity", on June 22, 2012,  ANEM organized a press conference in the Belgrade Media Centre. Speakers at the conference were Sasa Mirkovic (ANEM President); Snjezana Milivojevic, Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, ANEM partner on the project (leader of the project research team); Sandra Mandic (journalist of TV series "Connecting"); Uros Urosevic (journalist of ANEM radio series "Connecting"), Hasna Ziljkic (interlocutor in the TV program of the  series "Connecting" recorded in Novi Pazar) and Aleksandra Krstic (member of the research team and journalist from the independent television production "Mreza"). The event was attended by 20 journalists, representatives of NGOs and donor sector, as well as competent state bodies.

The main purpose of this press conference was to present the results of ANEM project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity", which ANEM has implemented in partnership with the Faculty of Political Sciences since June 2011, with the financial support of the European Union through the program "Support to civil society". During the course of this project, a series of activities were carried out, such as research on the media coverage of ethnic cultural diversity topics, education of journalists in the area and production of radio and TV series on ethnic cultural diversity, titled "Connecting". TV programs were created by the production team of the selected production company "A-media", while the radio programs were made by selected radio journalists from ANEM radio stations, under the mentorship of experienced colleagues in the above production company. Episodes of radio and TV series were aired on ANEM stations from April until June 2012, and were made available for wide public on ANEM web portal "Bolja Srbija" (Better Serbia) and ANEM YouTube Channel. Present at the press conference had the opportunity to listen to the best parts of selected radio and TV episodes of the series.

At the beginning of the conference, ANEM President Sasa Mirkovic remindend the audience of the activities implemented under ANEM project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity", emphasizing at that the conducted research and produced Recommendations on reporting on ethnic cultural diversity that Snjezana Milivojevic, professor at the FPS, as the leader of the project research team, had carried out together with her team. They served as the basis for a ten-minute production of the "Connecting", series of 10 radio and 10 TV programs, which a large number of ANEM radio stations were airing (41 stations) and TV series (27 TV stations) across Serbia. He also emphasized the importance of educational components of these programs, noting that the project was ending with the creation of the Guide, which would further educate the journalists and be used a starting point for all those dealing with these issues in the future.

Snjezana Milivojevic, Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences and the project research team leader, said that this project and cooperation with ANEM had three qualities - first, the fact that a tertiary education institution and a media organization were involved and focused on the same common goal, in an interesting area as was a study about stereotypes, the way we saw each other, how we tolerated and appreciated one another, how we recognized our qualities, similarities and differences; secondly, the affirmation of a new type of education within the media community - by organizing constructive meetings, workshops and the Guide for journalists on how to report on cultural differences of ethnic minorities, a new kind of permanent educational platform has been established. Finally the third quality - a fantastic production and excellent radio and TV programs. "All programs show that people recognize and celebrate diversity, celebrate their everyday life that is rich, lavishly beautiful and enriched, precisely because it involves people who have different characteristics, quality and features. This can be sensed and observed in each program", the professor concluded. She stressed that all of these were exactly the recommendations of the research team, which were the product of the research, formulated as mini-instructions and insights for journalists on how to report on the cultural diversity of ethnic minorities. At the end of her address, the professor warmly recommended to the audience to see the program if they had not done so by now.

Sandra Mandic, one of the journalists working on ANEM TV series "Connecting", presented the production team that she had cooperated with in the course of the series' production, such as fellow-journalist Ana Stjepanovic, editor Jugoslava Siroka and mentor for radio programs Mitko Jakovlevski. During the work on the series, the production team had the opportunity to visit more than 10 cities and talk to the nearly 100 interlocutors. During the recording of the programs, the journalists were striving to use a different approach to interlocutors and thus learn many new things about their daily lives, traditions, etc. As an added value of the series, the journalist indicated that young people were presented in a different way than usually, and that they were given a chance in these programs to show the public that they had various qualities with which they could teach others that the diversity was a wealth they inherited from their multicultural environments.

Uros Urosevic, journalist of ANEM radio series and author of the program treating the the Vlach tradition in village Laznica, talked about his experience he had gained while working on this story. His story, along with a story from Golubinci about mixed marriages, was voted the best story of the radio series on ANEM web portal "Bolja Srbija". Urosevic pointed out that the quality of this story, which the participants had the opportunity to hear during the conference, lied in the fact that it conveyed the message that one's home was where one felt good, noting that this program was aimed, in its core, to change the public attitude towards these topics, because the media was reporting on national minorities only superficially, while these stories were good bases and guides for other media to use when reporting on the cultural diversity of ethnic minorities.

Hasna Ziljkic, interlocutor in the TV program of the series "Connecting", recorded in Novi Pazar (which was voted the best TV program of the series, treating the choice of women from Novi Pazar to wear hijab), said that knowing and understanding the customs and tradition of other nations and their specifics contributed to tolerance and mutual cooperation. She also added that the program, that she participated in, really introduced the viewers with something that not many people knew much about or could read only negative speculations in the media. She said that the program did not represent an ideology, but rather a realistic picture of today. She particularly thanked ANEM and the whole production team for making such a quality series about bridging the differences.

Aleksandra Krstic, journalist of the independent TV production company "Mreza", as a participant in the research part of the project before the Faculty of Political Sciences, said that every radio and TV program of the series "Connecting" had really lived up to the expectations of the research. The series indeed followed the recommendations, and even went a step further. On other hand, as a journalist of PG "Mreza", she praized TV programs in terms of professional journalism, emphasizing that they were interesting, dynamic and had a large number of interviewees and interlocutors, who had contributed, with their quality and expertise, to programs' becoming a model for other journalists while reporting on minorities. She particularly emphasize the quality of picture and high level of professionalism of cameramen and picture editor.

At the end of the press conference, journalists of ANEM stations that had participated in tre project shared their impressions of the radio and TV  programs "Connecting", by saying that the work on this series had indeed enriched journalists, while the stories showed that we had something really beautiful in our country, which needed to be nurtured. They also stressed the need for more such projects, and that the programs of the series "Connecting" were good examples of different reporting on minorities, which were much needed in order that the media would fulfill their role in a society in the best possible way.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

ANEM is proud to announce that Jelena Terzin, journalist of RTV VK from Kikinda - ANEM member station - has won the third place among 179 received productions in TV and radio category at the PROFEST independent film festival of the 12 countries in the Danube Region. The journalist has been awarded for her radio program "Modzo Club from Senta", recorded as part of ANEM radio series "Connecting". The international jury has awarded the journalist with the third place for the radio feature about the jazz-blues-rock club "Modzo" in Senta, a club that has been gathering people of different ethnic background for more than two decades. With this award, this journalist from ANEM members station has become the only awarded journalist from Serbia in the radio category. The radio feature on Modzo club from Senta can be heard here.

All radio and TV programs of the series "Connecting" may be found on ANEM web portal "Bolja Srbija" (Better Serbia). The production of TV programs and post-production of radio programs was carried out for ANEM by the team of selected production company "A-media", with supervision and mentorship of the engaged production team. The editor of radio and TV series is Jugoslava Siroka, while the mentor to radio journalists is Mitko Jakovlevski.

We also remind you that visitors to the portal "Bolja Srbija" voted for the best story of the series, first by choosing the best out of 4 nominated programs of the radio series with the highest percentage of votes, and then the best TV program, out of 4 selected with the highest percentage of votes.

The results of the visitors' votes have shown the following:

Regarding the best program of the radio series, after two cycles of voting, out of 4 radio features (Vlach Tradition, Choire "Neven", Mixed Marriage and Roma in Parents' School Councils), two were selected as the best - Vlach Tradition (the story about the Vlach customs and tradition in the village of Laznica, accepted and practiced by non-Vlach villagers) and the program Mixed Marriage (the story about the Serb-Croat family from Golubinci, the village where most inhabitants marry without giving much attention to their ethnic origins).

TV program from Novi Pazar was selected as the best story of the TV series "Connecting" by portal's visitors. It is a story about two women from Novi Pazar that talk about their choice to wear hijab, while their friends of Serbian origin reflect on the reasons for having them as their dear friends. Three other stories were also in the race for the best story of the series were Language of Belo Blato, Business Cooperation and Roma Artists. These 4 programs had the highest percentage of votes after two voting cycles, out of which the best story of TV series was selected.

We invite you to visit our web portal "Bolja Srbija" and watch and hear the best episodes of radio series and the best TV program of the TV series "Connecting" and see for yourself why they have been chosen. We remind you that you can find the programs on ANEM YouTube channel as well.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

Premiere broadcasting of ANEM TV series "Connecting" on ANEM local and regional TV stations ended on May 19. Ten 10-minute TV programs, treating ethnic cultural differences in a different way than usual, were aired every working day in the period of two weeks, starting from May 7. The series was prepared in cooperation with the production company A-Media within ANEM project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity".

These stories about the people's lives in ethnically mixed areas throughout Serbia show that the daily life in such areas is very different than it is usually portrayed in the media in Serbia - namely, through reports on inter-ethnic conflicts and tensions. Interlocutors in these programs openly talk about their daily lives, tradition and customs, family and relations with their neighbors, joint ventures and common interests, while differences that exist between them due to other ethnicity are not seen by them as an obstacle but as an asset that contributes to the quality of life. The first program of the series was filmed in Novi Sad and it shows Roma artists as well as the citizens of Novi Sad who want to learn Roma language and to understand Roma culture. The second program is about multi-ethnic place Bac, where different cultures and traditions entwine and where different languages could be heard - on the street, in the market, and in the local choir "Neven". The third program brings a story about two friends, a Serb and an Albanian from Bujanovac, who developed a joint venture with mutual respect and appreciation for diversity. The fourth program, filmed in Bujanovac and Presevo, is about young people, Serbs, Albanians and Roma, who were brought together by lack of work in "YouthBuild" training center, where, during the job seeking trainings and socializing, they felt barriers disappeared and ensured that together they could achieve much more. The fifth program is about Subotica youth magazine "A +" ("Pet +") and high school students, who prepare together this magazine, published in two languages - Hungarian and Serbian, and easily overcome the language differences. In the sixth program, two women from Novi Pazar are talking about their choice to wear the hijab, while their friends of Serbian nationality are talking about their friendship. The seventh program, filmed in Crnajka, Zajecar and Pirot, brings a story about a family of Vlach origin, fostering Vlach customs and rural tourism as a way for people to learn about the culture of other ethnic communities. The eighth program is about Belo Blato, little town near Zrenjanin, whose residents have seen exceptional mixture of languages, customs and traditions as an opportunity to develop rural tourism and improve their lives. The ninth program, filmed in Belgrade, is a story on how Chinese food has stimulated two young Belgrade girls to get to know this far Eastern culture better. The tenth program is about the club "Mojo" in Senta, where jazz and blues intertwine along with Hungarian and Serbian language, and where people of different ethnic backgrounds are brought together while enjoying the music.

In addition to B92 Info, programs of TV series "Connecting" was aired by 26 local and regional ANEM TV stations: RTV Sumadija (Arandjelovac), RTV Kragujevac (Kragujevac), RTV Pancevo (Pancevo), TV Leskovac (Leskovac), RTV Prima (Bajina Basta), RTV Trstenik (Trstenik), Timocka televizija i radio (Zajecar), RTV YU ECO (Subotica), TV Cacak (Cacak), RTV Vrnjacka Banja (Vrnjacka Banja), TV Požega (Pozega), TV Spektar (Sombor), Sremska TV (Sid), RTV Caribrod (Dimitrovgrad), RTV Krusevac (Krusevac), RTV OK (Kovacica), RTV Majdanpek (Majdanpek),  RTV Mlava (Petrovac on Mlava), RTV VK (Kikinda), Novosadska TV (Novi Sad), RTV Kladovo (Kladovo), RTV Panonija (Novi Sad), TV Smederevo (Smederevo), TV 017 (Vranje), RTV Sokobanja (Sokobanja) and TV Jedinstvo (Novi Pazar). B92 Info TV viewers will have the opportunity to watch the series' episodes by June 15; two programs per week are broadcast on this channel, starting from May 14.

As of May 25, visitors of ANEM web portal "Bolja Srbija" (Better Serbia) could watch the first 5 programs and vote for the one that they like the most, by June 1. The remaining five episodes will be available from June 1 and voting for the best out of them is possible by June 8.

By voting for one of four programs with the highest number of votes, by June 15, the best story of the TV series "Connecting" will be selected.

All programs of radio and TV series "Connecting" will also be available on ANEM YouTube channel as of June 2012.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

From April 16 to April 27, some positive story promoting tolerance and cultural pluralism in the society and treating ethnic cultural diversity from a different angle, could be heard every working day in the programs of 41 ANEM radio stations. These stories, as part of ANEM project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity", were told in 10-minute episodes of the series "Connecting", prepared by journalists of ANEM radio stations and mentored by the professional team of the production company "A-media".

Attractive stories of the radio series about people that live in multiethnic communities present cultural diversities not as an obstacle in connecting people of different ethnic groups, but they break the stereotypes that these differences are deep and impossible to overcome. The programs were recorded in Bac, Novi Pazar, Bujanovac, Senta, Laznica near Zagubica, Valjevo, Golubinci in Srem, Belo Blato near Zrenjanin and in Belgrade, while the listeners had the opportunity to learn how people from these multiethnic communities had found the way to live together and improve their life and environment. The programs were regularly aired on the following ANEM radio stations: RTV Kragujevac (Kragujevac), RTV Pancevo (Pancevo), RTV Prima (Bajina Basta), RTV Trstenik (Trstenik), RTV Timocka (Zajecar), RTV Yu Eco (Subotica), Radio 021 (Novi Sad), Radio Boom 93 (Pozarevac), Radio Bus (Kovin), Radio City (Nis), Radio Cacak (Cacak), Radio EM (Knjazevac), Radio Ema (Bujanovac), Radio Far (Alibunar), Radio Luna (Uzice), Radio OK (Vranje), Radio Ozon (Cacak), Radio Patak (Valjevo), Radio Pozega (Pozega), Radio Plus (Pirot), Radio Uzice (Uzice), RTV Caribrod (Dimitrovgrad), RTV Krusevac (Krusevac), RTV OK (Kovacica), RTV Majdanpek (Majdanpek), RTV Mlava (Petrovac on Mlava), RTV VK (Kikinda), Radio Indjija (Indjija), Ivanciki Radio (Ivanjica), Radio NB (Novi Becej), Radio Ozon (Sremska Mitrovica), Radio Paracin (Paracin), Radio Srem (Ruma), Radio Srbobran (Srbobran), Radio Sumadija (Arandjelovac), Radio Vrbas (Vrbas), Radio Odzaci (Odzaci), RTV Santos (Zrenjanin) Radio Bemin Musical 93 (Arilje) and Radio Subotica (Subotica).

Visitors of ANEM web portal "Bolja Srbija" (Better Serbia) will be able to hear all 10 programs of the radio series "Connecting" after the end of premier broadcasting on radio stations. First 5 programs will be available for listening on the portal as of May 4, while the rest will be uploaded from May 14. The first five radio programs are: the story about choir "Neven" from Bac, which depicts multiculturalism of this Vojvodina village and whose citizens nurture the wealth of their different languages and tradition; the story about young people of Bosniak and Serbian nationality from Novi Pazar promoting the values of multiethnicity by organizing events "Pazar sofra"; the story about the business cooperation of lifelong friends from Bujanovac, an Albanian and a Serb, which shows how wrong are those who think that living together or co-partnership of members of these two ethnic groups is impossible; the story about the jazz-blues-rock club "Modzo" in Senta, which has been connecting people of different ethnic background for almost twenty years and which is proving to everyone that taste in music is important for bringing people together and is greatly shaping the behavior of individuals and groups; the story about Vlach tradition in the village Laznica, which other non-Vlach citizens have accepted them as well.

The remaining 5 programs that will be uploaded on the web portal "Bolja Srbija" are the stories about: a school in Valjevo that enroles a great number of Roma pupils, whose parents are also actively involved in the parents' councils, which has greatly resulted in outstanding achievements of these children in school and contributed to their better integration into the society; a RTV station in Bujanovac, where two newsrooms, in Serbian and in Albanian language, share a very small space and where journalists of both nationalities are closely working together on daily basis; a Serbian-Croatian family from Golubinci, a place where people are marrying regardless of their ethicity; food, as the most "tastefull" way to other cultures, which we could learn about from two young Belgrade girls who enjoy Chinese food; people from Belo Blato near Zrenjanin, who have found inspiration in the riches of their different cultures and tradition to economically improve their village in rural turism.

In addition, visitors of ANEM web portal will be able to vote for the best story of the series in their opinion, first by voting for one of the first 5 programs (by May 14), then for one of another 5 programs (by May 21) and then by voting for one of 4 programs with the highest number of votes, by May 25, to select the best story of the whole radio series "Connecting".

All radio programs of the series "Connecting" will be also available on ANEM YouTube channel as of June 2012.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

On April 11, 2012, ANEM organized a press conference at Belgrade Media Center, to present and announce the beginning of broadcasting of its new TV and radio series "Connecting" that treats cultural diversities of ethnic minorities in Serbia. The series was produced within ANEM project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity".

Speakers at the press conference were ANEM President Sasa Mirkovic, research team leader and professor Snjezana Milivojevic from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, which was ANEM partner on the project, assistant editor of ANEM series Ana Stjepanovic, TV journalist of ANEM series Sandra Mandic, as well as radio journalists of ANEM series Oliver Trajkovic and Predrag Zambok. The conference was also attended by over 20 journalists, representatives of non-governmental sector, donor organizations and state institutions.

ANEM President Sasa Mirkovic addressed the public at the opening of the conference by outlining the project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity" and presenting the speakers of the conference who were involved in the project in different phases of its implementation. Mirkovic acquainted the present with the series "Connecting", namely that they contained 10 radio and 10 TV programs that treated 10 ethnic minorities in total; that the programs were recorded on 15 different locations, while 17 journalists and local correspondents had participated in the production of the programs. Mirkovic also emphasizsed the educational aspect of the project, as journalists of ANEM radio stations had the opportunity to participate in the production of the series guided by the mentoring of experienced colleagues from A-Media production company. He also informed the present about the start of broadcasting of 10 radio and 10 TV programs on ANEM stations, pointing out their great interest in airing the series as a refreshing content in the moment when media abounded in political programs during the current pre-election campaign.

Snjezana Milivojevic, professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, provided a brief overview of the research conducted by her team of researches within this project and its results. She elaborated on the aim of the research that was to identify the manner in which the minorities were represented in and by the media, as well as to determine how the media, jouranlists and audience jointly participated in the process of creating dominant conception of ethnic minorities. Milivojevic explained the methods used in the process - qualitative and quantitative research, analysis of program offer of ANEM stations, focus groups that served to identify how journalists and audience were perceiving and relating to presentation of ethnic minorities in media. One of the conclusions of the research, Milivojevic pointed out, was that minorities were barely visible in Serbian media, and even when they were, neither professional public nor audience were satisfied with the reporting. The research also showed that there was a clear connection between teritorial aspect of the population and the way in which this popularity was presented in the media. Hence, programs of this kind were less in number in Central Serbia although the audience from this part of the countrly was more eager to see various and more creative programs on ethnic minorities. Milivojevic also pointed out that a majority of media projects aiming at reporting on ethnic minorities was funded through calls or directly by local self-governments and the stations rarely invested in their own making of such programs as part of their regular production. She also stressed the lack of bilingual or subtitled programs. Programs in minority languages were usually included in special program segments, which necessarily led to fragmenting of the audience. Given that media by rule report on ethnic minorities either in case of conflict or "traditional basis", both journalists and the public have an impression that reporting on ethnic minorities is mainly stereotypical or negative (conflicts). Finally, Milivojevic concluded that diversity was very sensitive topic in our society and in public discourse, without serious attempts to create the environment that nurtured the riches of diversity. Having all this in mind, it was important to use the research results as the basis for making of the series "Connecting", so that the tolerance would be promoted and diversity presented in a positive light.

Ana Stjepanovic, the assistant editor of the series, reiterated the importance of research being the starting point for the production team, as it had served them as an insight into the way in which media treated minorities, as well as a guide for the correct approact to the topics of the programs. She said that the series, based on the recommendations of the research team, had treated the stories about 10 minority groups in total (Hungarians, Albanians, Bosniaks, Roma, Croatians, Slovaks, Vlachs, Bulgarians, Yugoslavs and Chinese). The series was recorded in multiethnic communities througout Serbia, while the leading characters of the programs were common people telling stories about their mutual relationships, everyday life and connections they made. During the production, more than 80 different people were interviewed, with stories showing how differences were in fact connecting people and how they had made their lives better.

Sandra Mandic, TV journalist on the series, shared her experience while working on TV programs and cooperating with colleagues that were working on radio programs. She pointed out that the series was indeed special, primarily because different approach from standard journalistic interviews was taken, where interlocutors were given the opportunity to tell their stories in their own native language and depict real life in a multiethnic environment. Journalist also emphasized that, despite the fact that differences of ethnic minorities had been usually negatively presented in the media, the work on these programs had enabled all participants in the production to realize that people living in ethnically diverse communities found their wealth of their society in these differences. Mandic concluded that the involvement in this project was very educational for journalists and interlocutors of the series, as well as for general audience.

Predrag Zamok, journalist of Radio Ozon from Sremska Mitrovica, described his experience in working on the radio program in which he treated the topic of mixed marriages in Srem. He said that the stories about this part of Serbia and mixed marriages were rather fascinating, as they portrayed people living with their differences and taking the best of their different ethnic backgrounds. Zambok also emphasized the importance of the mentoring for his work in the field as it had helped him to approach interlocutors in such a way as to give them sense of freely speaking about their families and everyday life.

Oliver Trajkovic, journalist of Ema Radio from Bujanovac, expressed his great pleasure in being a part of this project, as it had provided a chance for positive stories about life of people from small multiethnic environments from different parts of Serbia, of their mutual cooperation and support, to be heard all around the country. Coming from a community that is usually associated with multiethnic conflict, Trajkovic said it was very important to promote positive examples of cooperation even in such environments, as it was presented in his radio program treating the story about business cooperation between a Serb and Albanian. He also pointed out the importance of the support by the production team and good organization that had enabled the work on the series to be higher in quality and successfully concluded on time.

With this conference, ANEM strived to draw public attention to topics treated in the series, as well as to engage listeners and viewers across Serbia in following these programs every working day from April 16 to 27 on ANEM radio stations, and from May 7 to 18 on ANEM TV stations.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

The preparation of ANEM radio and TV series within the project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity", aimed to promote cultural diversity of ethnic minorities, is in its final stage. A total of 20 program have been recorded and are now in post-production phase. The production of TV programs was entrusted to production company "A-media", which has also done the post-production of radio programs, as well as selected journalists of ANEM radio stations, with mentoring and supervision of the production team engaged for that purpose.

Both radio and TV series have the same title - Connecting, consisting of 10 ten-minute programs each. They have been recorded on 15 different locations throughout Serbia, particularly in environments with different ethnic population: Bac, Belo Blato near Zrenjanin, Novi Sad, Subotica, Senta, Golubinci in Srem, Valjevo, Novi Pazar, Laznica near Zagubica, Majdanpek, Zajecar, Pirot, Bujanovac, Presevo and Belgrade. 17 journalists were engaged in the production of the series: 9 journalists from ANEM radio stations - in the production of radio programs, and 2 journalists from Belgrade and 6 local correspondents (from Subotica, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Novi Pazar, Zajecar and Vranje) in the production of TV series. The programs depict people, members of different ethnic communities living in mixed environments and together creating better conditions in work, schools, families, free time for them all, through initiatives for development of their community or through mutual interests, by accepting and nurturing cultural differences as their wealth, as something good or preferred for their environment. 10 different ethnic minorities were treated in the programs - Slovak, Croatian, Hungarian, Bosniak, Albanian, Vlach, Roma, Bulgarian and two not typical minorities, Chinese and Yugoslav. The series "Connecting" treats general topics of many cultures in a small place - how they preserve their identities, how they recognize others as different, what connects them; business cooperation of members of different nationality groups - how economic interest or mutual work inspire them to accept different or other cultures, what it means for their mutual relationships and the society, how is that contributing to the development of the place they live in; customs and tradition - how knowing one's tradition better helps overcoming prejudices and stereotypes they might have for other cultures; mixed media; mixed marriages; cultural diversities inspiring progress and so on.

The series "Connecting" will be broadcast throughout Serbia on local and regional ANEM radio and TV stations. Radio programs will be premiered on weekdays in the period from April 16 to 27, while TV programs will be aired every working day from May 7 to May 18, 2012.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

On February 2, 2012, ANEM organized a workshop on reporting on cultural diversity of ethnic minorities in the Belgrade Media Center. The workshop was organized within the project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity", for journalists and editors of ANEM radio and TV stations. It consisted of a theoretical part, which was led by prof. Snjezana Milivojevic (Faculty of Political Sciences, Belgrade) and prof. Dragan Popadic (Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade) and the practical part, namely training of journalists led by Boban Trajkovic, TV reporter from Production Group "Mreza" and Tatjana Novcic-Matijevic, Culture Editor at Radio Novi Sad. The workshop was attended by 25 journalists from 16 ANEM radio and TV stations: RTV B92, Radio Kikinda (Kikinda), Radio Far (Alibunar), Radio Paracin (Paracin), RTV OK (Kovacica), Ema Radio (Bujanovac), Radio Plus (Pirot), Radio Srbobran (Srbobran), TV Kladovo (Kladovo), RTV Mlava (Petrovac on Mlava), RTV Caribrod (Dimitrovgrad), Radio Bus (Kovin), RTK Kragujevac (Kragujevac), RTV VK (Kikinda), TV Smederevo (Smederevo), RTV Krusevac (Krusevac).

The workshop aimed at providing opportunity to journalists to learn, through theoretical and practical approach to treatment of topics, more about media reporting on the cultural diversity of ethnic communities: why the reporting of ethnic cultural diversity is important for the media and society; how are these topics currently reported on; what stereotypes on ethnic minorities exist and how they are shaped through the media and in public discourse; how can stereotypes be changed and how they are related to the promotion of tolerance and diversity; what is the role of media in that process; in what manner should journalists choose their topics and interlocutors and what their approach to these topics should be, in order to contribute, with their reporting, to "breaking" of stereotypes of an ethnic community.

In the theoretical part of the workshop, prof. Milivojevic talked about the media diversity, what it was and why it was important that the media dealt with diversities. The professor also elaborated on general features of media content on ethnic minorities existing in Serbia and presented the results of the Research, conducted under this project, on coverage of cultural diversity of ethnic minorities. Diversity is an indicator of general democracy of a society and presents the degree of tolerance and the willingness of society to see, acknowledge, recognize and accept the differences that exist in the society; on the other hand, diversity is an indicator of professionalism in the media and the readiness of media professionals to acknowledge, in the production of media content, the views, characteristics, way of thinking and interlocutors, who are not part of the dominant groups of society. There are very different ways of treatment and presentation of ethnic minorities in the media, which indicate the quality of media work and the contribution of media in their presentation: invisibility (usually, ignoring of specifics of a minority), a simplified presentation of minorities (the stereotypical presentation) and very open discrimination against minorities that includes aggressive exclusion of minorities, which sometimes results in hate speech. Reporting that acknowledges diversity is a major challenge and a difficult task for the media, especially when it comes to ethnic diversity, bearing in mind the post-conflict character of our region. Speaking about the Research, Milivojevic stated that its goal was to determine the characteristics of presentation, correlation/role of journalists, the correlation/role of media and correlation/role (perception) of audience in the creation of the dominant image of selected ethnic minorities and diversities. The Research has shown that it is necessary to change the current way of reporting on ethnic minorities, as well as journalistic practice, to achieve a reduction in distance and intolerance towards certain ethnic minorities. In addition to Research results, professor Milivojevic also gave recommendations for reporting on ethnic cultural diversity.

Dragan Popadic, PhD, professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, talked about ethnic stereotypes, their origin, and subsistence through the media, popular culture and everyday communication, as wll as how stereotypes could be changed and how they were associated with promotion of tolerance and diversity. Professor Popadic explained the difference between prejudice (general feeling), stereotypes (general belief) and discrimination (behavior). He presented the possible causes of stereotypes, according to different theories - ethnocentrism and the division on "us" and "them"; stereotype, as a result of correlation between the two groups, where the content of a stereotype depends on the difference in status between groups and existence of cooperation/conflict between the two. Popadic used a case study (correlation of cooperation between two countries and correlation of their conflict and political disagreements) to explain the originating of stereotypes and role of media in that process. He also explained the key role of media, as means of mass communication, in reduction of stereotypes and prejudices: the media should contribute to increase of tolerance, understanding and acceptance of diversity with their reporting on other ethnic groups and respecting of their differences.

The aim of the second, practical part of the workshop, led by Boban Trajkovic, TV journalist from Production Group "Mreza" and Tatjana Novcic-Matijevic, Culture Editor at Radio Novi Sad, was to provide journalists with practical examples of good and bad journalistic practice in the production of such programs. The journalists had the opportunity to see and hear examples of television and radio reporting on this topic, and jointly analyze and discuss them. Watching and discussing TV reports from Kosovo and Southern Serbia, as well as listening to radio features from multiethnic Vojvodina, journalists, together with the trainers, concluded that a good way to combat stereotypes and prejudices in society was story told about an individual and his daily life.

Summing up all said and heard at the workshop, prof. Milivojevic told present journalists that breaking stereotypes was not an easy job, but that mission of the media was to have a critical attitude towards reality, which implied a critical distance to what was reported about, which excluded deliberate "recycling" of stereotypes. She pointed out that the media should provide a variety of different representations of all of us living in one society, abundance and an opportunity to be all equally heard and seen in a public debate.

By participating in this workshop, which included both theoretical and practical approach, journalists had the opportunity to understand the ways in which ethnic stereotypes are created and strengthened through the chain involving both the media/journalists and the public, to hear and discuss about the possible ways to overcome stereotypes, about their responsibility in this process, and to exchange experiences and views on what would be the best way of reporting on these issues. Journalists from ANEM stations were very interested in the topic of the workshop, confirming the need for improvement of the existing method of reporting on the cultural diversity of ethnic minorities, which the entire ANEM project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity" is committed to.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

The production of 20 programs on the topic of ethnic minorities' cultural diversity has started within the project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity". Two series of 10 ten-minute radio and TV programs, respectively, will be produced and aired on ANEM stations throughout Serbia. The production company "A-Media" has been outsourced for the production of TV programs and post-production of the radio programs, produced by selected journalists from ANEM radio stations, mentored and supervised by the A-Media production team. Through a new approach to the topic of cultural diversities, the programs will be made so as to differ from the stereotypical treatment of such topics and contribute to the education of viewers and listeners with programs' content. The programs will also serve the audience to better understand diversities and bridge the ethnic gap. At the center of each story will be an individual coming from a certain ethnic group, which will serve to reflect the cultural diversities between ethnic groups. The programs will contain stories about these individuals and their daily lives, what their cultural identity is made of, to what extent and how it affects their life. It will also show that cultural diversities are not an unbridgeable obstacle and that the respect thereof, tolerance, dialogue, cooperation and mutual trust and understanding are the best guarantee of peace and security in society. The programs aim to show that stereotypes create ethnic distance and represent a drawback for the development of both minorities and the majority. The radio series is planned for broadcasting in April 2012, while the TV series is planned to be aired in May. The public will be informed on time on a press conference to be held before the start of broadcasting.

Prior to the start of production, in late November 2011, ANEM organized, together with its partner, the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade,  the presentation of the research the partner has carried out for the purposes of this project and proper recommendations to the selected production team. On December 17, 2011 in Belgrade ANEM held a workshop for team members, the purpose of which was to agree upon the concept of the programs, the preliminary topics and the approach thereto, the minorities that would be treated in the programs, as well as the manner of working on the TV and radio programs. Instrumental in that was the results of the research that have shown that: the media seldom report about cultural diversity of ethnic minorities in Serbia and when they do, such reports are stereotypical and fail to contribute to the integration of various ethnic groups living in a certain area; the media features about ethnic minorities are mainly related to particular events and occasions or often to conflicts; the reporting is typically done from the standpoint of the elite; the audience rarely gets the chance to learn about the everyday lives of members of ethnic minorities; the dominant perception about others is to a great extent based on stereotypes that are mutually reinforced by the way the media report to the public about certain cultural patterns; for the purpose of fostering tolerance and pluralism in society, it is necessary to change the current reporting practices about these topics in the media; the journalists and the public consider it is necessary and possible to overcome the current situation with a different approach in tackling these topics. This is precisely what the main task of the production team will be. In the next few months, the team will work on the production of the radio and TV series. For six television journalists - local correspondents and nine local journalists of ANEM radio stations, which will take part in the production of radio programs - it will be the opportunity to educate themselves, through practical work, for future assignments related to the relevant topics.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

How the media tackle ethnic minorities in their programs, what are the most common journalistic practices in producing these programs, their scope, structure and quality, what is the attitude of journalists towards the ethnic cultural differences, what are the dominant media messages that form public opinion and public attitudes towards ethnic minorities in Serbia, what is the general perception of the public on ethnic cultural diversity issues, what is the link between the media, journalists and the public in the chain of forming stereotypical ways of thinking about certain ethnic minority groups - these are some of the most important issues treated in the research, which was conducted in the first months of implementation ANEM one-year project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity".

The research was conducted during August, September and October 2011, by the research team of ANEM partner on this project, the Faculty of Political Sciences, Belgrade, under the leadership of professor Snjezana Milivojevic, PhD, in cooperation with ANEM. Through the analysis of secondary research materials, quantitative analysis of media programming structures and schemes, qualitative program content analysis of selected media in Serbia in three territorial areas (northern, central and southern Serbia), as well as through focus groups with journalists and citizens - the public, the research was aiming to identify the main characteristics and shortcomings in presenting selected ethnic groups in the media, as well as the complex process of forming stereotypical attitude towards the ethnic minority communities in Serbia, which involved both the media and journalists and citizens - the audience.

Within three months of research work, research materials on variety and presence of topics of ethnic cultural diversity in the media were actively collected and analyzed, with conducted quantitative and qualitative analysis of program offerings of the media and participation of a significant number of ANEM stations. Furthermore, eight focus groups in 4 cities were organized (Novi Sad, Cacak, Nis and Belgrade), with a large number (total 76) participants, of which 39 journalists and 37 citizens - audience of carefully balanced gender, age and education and with a large number of representatives of ethnic minority communities among them. The results of the research will be announced in November, after the conclusion of the ongoing analysis of all collected data. The research results will be used in preparation of the Recommendations for media reporting on ethnic cultural diversity in Serbia, which would be the basis for a new approach to these topics and for determining the concept of radio and TV series (10 programs per each) planned by this project. Recommendations should serve as a guide to journalists about the forms of stereotypical coverage of certain ethnic communities that need to change, as well as instructions for how such programs can be made more innovative and creative to maintain the perception of value and importance of cultural diversity for the society as a whole, as well as to influence their better acceptance.

The results of the research and Recommendations, enriched by experience in working on the production of programs planned by the project, will be integrated into the E-Guide, which will be available to ANEM stations in June 2012. This Guide will enable them to continue to treat topics relating to ethnic cultural diversity in a new and more adequate way, so that they would contribute to the promotion of tolerance and pluralism in our society.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.

According to recent researches, ethnic distance is still very present in our society. Aiming to contribute to its reduction and development of tolerance and cultural pluralism in Serbia, in late June 2011, ANEM began implementing a one-year-long project titled "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity" in cooperation with its partner, the Faculty of Political Sciences and with the support of the EU Delegation in Serbia.

Deeming that the media is a key actor in the democratization of society that significantly affects the creation of public opinion, consequently the reduction of ethnic distance, ANEM, as an association of broadcasters, will seek to achieve several objectives through the implementation of this project: to educate the public in this area, through the production and broadcasting of radio and TV programs on ethnic cultural diversity, with a new concept in treating these topics; to increase the presence of these topics in the media by broadcasting produced programs on ANEM local and regional stations across Serbia; to improve the capacity of its local and regional stations for adequate coverage of these topics through various forms of education and thus to better fulfill their role in promoting tolerance and diversity. The overall objective of this project is to contribute to building social cohesion and overcome discrimination in our society.

In this project, the partner plays a very important role in the realization of the set objectives. Specifically, the research team of the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences will first conduct the research with the aim to identify the main characteristics and shortcomings of the current media reporting on the cultural diversity of selected ethnic groups. The results of this research will be used as a basis for the recommendations - guidelines for more adequate reporting on these issues, for the purpose of better understanding and acceptance of cultural diversity of ethnic minorities in Serbia. The recommendations will serve to define a new approach to these topics, to be applied in the production of programs envisaged by this project. They will also be integrated, together with the research results, into the E-Guide for ANEM members to serve them in a future independent production of similar content. The leader of the research team is Snjezana Milivojevic, PhD, renowned researcher and media analyst.

The project foresees production of 20 programs (10 radio and 10 TV), treating the cultural diversity of selected ethnic groups. These recommendations, based on which the concept of programs will be established, will be a base and a guide for the expert team of the production company engaged in producing 10 TV programs, as well as for the work of journalists from ANEM stations which would, under the mentorship and supervision of the said production company, produce 10 radio programs. Broadcasting of these programs on ANEM regional and local radio and TV stations across Serbia will be in a form of a media campaign, dedicated to promoting tolerance and respect for cultural diversity. Also, the programs will enrich the program offer of ANEM stations with positive stories about ethnic minorities. This type of production work and a different approach in dealing with these topics will be two-fold educational. On one hand, it will enable ANEM stations to gain new professional experience and skills and to produce quality content relating to ethnic cultural diversity, while on the other, the public will be able to "meet" the members of certain ethnic minority groups and their cultural identity in a way that will contribute to more proper understanding of cultural diversity, its quality and importance for the development of the society. With this, the project will contribute to a gradual bridging of differences.

All information about current events and activities of the project "Crossing the Bridge of Diversity" will be available on ANEM website and in ANEM newsletter that is distributed regularly. You will also be able to see selected episodes of the radio and TV programs on our web portal "Bolja Srbija" (Better Serbia), dedicated to the promotion of positive values ​​in Serbian society.

This project is financially supported by the European Union through the project "Support to Civil Society", managed by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia and implemented by GOPA Consultants.

The contents of this text are the sole responsibility of ANEM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views and stands of the European Union.