Prishtina will welcome up to a hundred top journalists and editors from around the region and beyond this week as K2.0 hosts the landmark “Media Now: Shifting the Paradigm” conference.
The two days of inspiring talks, innovative workshops and cultural visits — supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands — will focus on media freedoms and independence, innovative and creative journalistic content and the ever-changing relationship between media and wider communities in an increasingly hostile media environment.
Guests and speakers are expected from regional countries including Kosovo, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia, while speakers and trainers will also be joining from places such as the Netherlands, UK and Poland.
In addition to the more familiar aspects of a conference agenda, the guests will be invited to get out of the hotel through visits to important sites around the city and surrounding areas that symbolize historical significance or revitalization. Parts of the agenda will be held in the Termokiss community space and independent cinema Kino Armata, while there will also be a cultural walking tour of Prishtina city center and a guided visit to the historical site of the Ulpiana Archaeological Park.
Beyond the invite-only section of the event, on Wednesday (Nov. 20) we will open the program’s doors wide for members of the public to come and listen to headline talks at Kino Armata by some of our notable guest speakers.
The Outloud Talks public event will kick off at 17:30 with former Guardian and BBC investigative journalist John Sweeney, who has worked on some of the biggest worldwide stories during his journalism career that has spanned three decades. During that time he has reported from more than 80 different countries, including Kosovo and other parts of the region during the ’90s and has picked up multiple international awards.
He’ll be followed on stage by Marije Martens, co-founder of the Are We Europe magazine, which aims to change European journalism by empowering young journalists on the ground. With their innovative storytelling formats Are We Europe fight parachute journalism and look to find the European voice outside of Brussels.
Closing the Outloud Talks will be Berta Tilmantaite, the Lithuanian journalist, photographer and videographer who co-founded the first Lithuanian multimedia platform for documentary projects and podcasts (www.nanook.lt). Her visual stories from different parts of the world focus on social issues, human rights, environment and connection between humans and nature and have won various awards in international contests and festivals.
You can also follow all the main developments from the rest of the conference by following K2.0’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, and by following the hashtag #MediaNow2019. K
Feature image: K2.0.
