Annual Planning Meeting for the 5th season of “Vicinities" in Thessaloniki, Greece
The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe (CDRSEE), as a partner with the European Fund for the Balkans in the production of the regional TV talk show “Vicinities” ("Okruzenje"), organised the Annual Planning Meeting for the 5th season of this joint project in Thessaloniki, Greece, on the 28th and 29th of January, 2016.
Zvezdana Kovac (Executive Director of CDRSEE and Editor-in-Chief of Vicinities) and Branka Panic (Programme Manager, European Fund for the Balkans) met with representatives of the 10 national TV Stations that are broadcasting the show and with the members of the production team.
In the retrospective discussion of the previous season, the participants agreed that the production and creative image of the show were significantly upgraded in the 4th season, considering the improved scenography as well as the technical and visual requirements. The special episode that was filmed during the Vienna Western Balkans Summit with the Prime Ministers of Serbia and Albania, Aleksandar Vucic and Edi Rama, and the General Secretary of the Regional Cooperation Council was highlighted as one of the season's most positive experiences on the "Vicinities" set.
The two heads of state came together in the same studio for the first time in decades, to discuss the “Union of Youth of the Western Balkans”, an initiative that they are spearheading to increase cooperation and raise the quality of life in the region. The Prime Ministers discussed the subject in front of a live audience with special youth guests from the Western Balkans. The youth initiative was seen as an important driver for tolerance, solidarity and cooperation among young people in the region, imperatives which are also part of the mission of “Vicinities”. The special edition of the regional TV show was broadcast on 10 national channels across the region, receiving exceptionally high viewership ratings.
Another highlight was the fact that EFB and the CDRSEE launched a new TV current affairs talk show, “Vicinities Europe”. The show is a spin-off of the already acclaimed “Vicinities”. “Vicinities Europe” will focus on topics that are relevant to the current issues on the European scene. The first of the two pilot episodes “Quo Vadis, Europe?”, looked at recent current events and what they mean for Europe, and the migrant and refugee crisis in Europe was the topic of the second show. Alumni members of the EFB participated and commented in the live audience during filming of the shows.
An important step forward for “Vicinities” was the addition of two more TV Stations -- RTSH Albania and RTK 1 Kosovo -- bringing the number of regional TV partners to 10. The fourth season of “Vicinities” was broadcast by the following TV stations with national public broadcasting licences – HRT 4 (Croatia), RTS 2 (Serbia), RTSH (Albania), BHRT (Bosnia and Herzegovina), TVBN (Bosnia and Herzegovina), RTV 3 (Slovenia), TV Vijesti (Montenegro), TV Alsat (Macedonia), RTK 1(Kosovo) and RTK 2 (Kosovo), as well as numerous local stations in Serbia.
Lots of statistics, ratings information, discussions and creative brainstorming were included in the process of selecting the relevant topics and organising the production details ahead of the shooting of the new 5th season, which is scheduled to begin in June 2016.
