EU Awards for Investigative Journalism Presented in Sarajevo Today

(Patria) - The European Union awards for the best investigative stories in 2021 will be presented today in Sarajevo.

Respecting epidemiological measures, the event will be organized in the future premises of the Reporters' House as part of the BIRN Open House event.

The prize fund for Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2021 (for achievements in 2020) amounts to 10,000 euros. The first prize is 5,000, the second 3,000, and the third 2,000 euros.

This year's awards refer to investigative works published from January 1 to December 31, 2020, covering topics in the areas of freedom of expression, rule of law, transparency, abuse of position, corruption, and violation of fundamental human rights.

Those present will be addressed by the Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative Ambassador Johann Sattler, while jury members will present the three best stories from 2020.

The jury for the EU award this year consisted of: Chairman Zlatan Musić, head of the media freedom program at the OSCE Mission to BiH, and members Davor Glavaš, a long-time journalist and media expert, project manager of the Balkans Media Assistance Program for media assistance in the Western Balkans, and Slavoljub Šćekić, editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro.

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey promotes outstanding achievements of investigative journalists and aims to improve the visibility of quality investigative journalism in the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey.

This continues the implementation of the project of regional EU awards for investigative journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey, as well as part of the current project "Raising the Quality of News and Independent Journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey."

All involved project partners have broad expertise in the field of media freedom and are recognized locally and internationally as strong independent media organizations.

The awards are presented annually in all six countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey, BIRN Hub announced.