Free and professional media and journalists are a true pillar of democracy and an integral part of a democratic society, without which the corpus of human rights and freedoms is incomplete and unfinished, said the Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Pažin when awarding the award for the best journalistic story in the "Europe for me" contest ".
Awards were given to journalists Borislav Višnjić, a journalist from Portal RTCG, Bojana Komnenić from Radio Antena M and Darvin Murić, a journalist from ND Vijesti. On this occasion, they were handed a laptop, phone and tablet.
Pažin pointed out that the affirmation of the idea of a united Europe is one of the values that is crucial for the further progress and development of Montenegro, which is also recognized in the Montenegrin Constitution.
"We didn't do that by accident or thoughtlessly. The very process of transformation of our society, within which Montenegro is slowly taking its place in the European family of states, is already bringing visible benefits to our citizens. Since we started the path of European reforms as an independent country, salaries and pensions in Montenegro have been doubled, our citizens travel around Europe without visas, while our students, professors and researchers today have equal access to the best European educational and research programs," Pažin said.
He assessed that today's laureates deserved recognition with dedicated work, talent and professional excellence.
The head of the EU Delegation in Montenegro, Aivo Orav, assessed that the awarded stories are diverse and informative and that they contribute to the discussion of important issues that practically affect our daily lives - from food safety, through the acquisition of skills for employment to what common values make us Europeans.
"We will make additional efforts in communicating about EU accession and the way in which EU funds support Montenegro and its citizens, because it is in the interest of all of us that citizens are well informed about the benefits and obligations arising from the EU accession process," said Orav.
Permanent coordinator of the UN System and permanent representative of UNDP in Montenegro, Fiona McLooney, said that today's award ceremony is an opportunity to talk about stories from real life, instead of indicators, benchmarks and progress reports.
"You - Darwin, Bojana and Borislava, as well as your fellow journalists, you are the ones who can breathe life into thousands of pages of the EU's legal acquis. You are the ones who portrayed how people's lives are changing thanks to the EU accession process and the aid it receives from the EU. The adoption of EU values and standards can only be sincere if you point to successful examples, such as those that have earned you the awards we are awarding today," McLuney pointed out.
Journalist Borislav Višnjić pointed out that the role of journalists in every society is important, and that their responsibility in European integration is further strengthened.
"It is in this process that we have to clearly and accurately explain to citizens the advantages and disadvantages of membership in the European Union," he added.
Višnjić believes that the life stories of ordinary citizens, who benefit concretely from integration, are more effective and better for the promotion of EU values and the possibilities of European funds, than everyday polemics about chapters, the principle of regatta or harmonization of domestic regulations with the European legal acquis.
The competition was announced in accordance with the Public Information Strategy on Montenegro's EU Accession 2014-2018, within the framework of the "EU4ME" project funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP.
Bonus video:
