The European Fund for the Balkans announces the launch of the European Story Fund (ESF) - regional co-operation network which consists of a group of journalists from the Western Balkans, formed to produce and share stories together. The ESF consists of individual journalists from the Western Balkans and journalists stationed in Brussels.
The stories produced by 1-2 members of the ESF are on a relevant European theme, and once complete are broadcasted by respective media houses to which each of the individual journalists belongs to.
The ESF was initiated with a short reportage in December 2009, on the village of Schengen – Luxembourg by Dusan Gajic – SEETV, Brussels. The village is at the crossroads of 3 EU countries – Luxembourg, France and Germany and was host to the signing of the Schengen Agreement among 5 out of 10 EU member states in 1985, establishing a border control free zone.
The Schengen Story was followed by the Visa – Road Movie by Borjan Jovanovski – A1 Tv, Skopje produced in the wake of visa liberalization for Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Three students each from Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia enter the EU for the first time, travel to Vienna and meet their peers. Throughout the trip, they are familiarized with the rules and procedures of visa free travel.
