Sarajevo/Beograd/Podgorica/Pristina/Skopje -- January 30, 2018 – The United State Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched a joint Balkan Media Assistance Program that focuses on the development of online media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.  U.S. Ambassador to BiH Maureen Cormack delivered remarks on the vital importance of press freedom and ongoing U.S. Government support for media development in BiH and the region. 

USAID will implement this three-year, $7 million program, through U.S.-based organizations, FHI 360 and Internews, in five countries in the Balkan region. The program will make media practitioners in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia more competitive in the local and regional marketplace and strengthen the sustainability of the independent media sector across the region. The activity will do this by providing outlets and media partners with more substantial and stable resources to operate as viable enterprises, engage wider audiences and expand their reach within the region, and foster stronger partnerships to advance solutions on common challenges, particularly in the digital space. 

Representatives of all relevant media in the five covered countries, as well as USAID and project staff from the region, were present at the opening event.