Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

   česky      english     

Advanced search

Skip to menu

Minister Petříček received the group of fellows of the Radio Free Europe´s Programs for young journalists
Photo: MZV ČR
Article notification Print Decrease font size Increase font size

Minister Petříček received the group of fellows of the Radio Free Europe´s Programs for young journalists

 

On January 15, 2019, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Petříček received a group of seven young promising journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Serbia. These journalists are currently working at the Prague Headquarters of Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) within the Fellowship Programs Václav Havel Journalism Fellowship and Jiří Dienstbier Journalism Fellowship, supported by the Czech MFA.

In his welcoming remarks, Ministr Petříček appreciated the important tireless work of the RFE/RL and the close cooperation with the Radio. He stressed the irreplaceable role of independent media in the protection of democracy and human rights and recalled the longstanding commitment of the Czech Republic towards media freedom, freedom of expression and access to information. The MFA grants about CZK 25 million every year to projects supporting independent media. „Support of independent media boosts democracy. I am glad that we increased the number of participants in programs for independent journalism,“ Minister Petříček concluded.

Mr. Nenad Pejić, Vice-President and Editor in Chief of the RFE/RL, who accompanied the fellows, thanked for a support and great cooperation with the Czech MFA. He also appreciated the approach of Czech MFA to journalists in difficult situations.

The following discussion focused on the expectations of the fellows, the challenges they are facing in their journalistic work as well as the current foreign-policy topics.

Václav Havel Journalism Fellowship was established in 2011, on the basis of a joint initiative of the MFA and RFE/RL with the aim to support young promising journalists from the countries of the Eastern Partnership and Russia. Jiří Dienstbier Journalism Fellowship has been running since 2014 and supports journalists from the countries of the Western Balkans.

.