The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), calls for nominations for the  2012 Dr. Erhard Busek – SEEMO Award for Better Understanding in South, Eastern and Central Europe.

Eligible nominees include journalists, editors, media executives, media experts, writers or journalism trainers in South East Europe who have contributed to promoting better understanding in the region and who have worked towards ending minority-related problems, ethnic divisions, racism, xenophobia, gender discrimination, homophobia, etc. The winner will be awarded 3,000 Euros.

The award is sponsored by Dr. Erhard Busek, former vice-chancellor of Austria, Jean Monet professor ad personam, president of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, coordinator of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI), and former special coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.

The deadline for applications is May 31, 2012. All material must arrive at the SEEMO office by May 31, 2012.

Should you wish to nominate a candidate for the 2012 Dr. Erhard Busek – SEEMO 2012 Award for Better Understanding in South, Eastern and Central Europe, please send SEEMO the following information:

1. Letter of nomination with basic details about the candidate and the reasons why you propose the specific candidate.
2. Curriculum Vitae of the candidate.
3. Supporting material: a list of the candidate’s merits, information about the media which published and/or broadcast the candidate’s work; any other relevant material.
4. Your contact information: name; address; cell phone, phone and fax number; email address.
5. Candidate’s contact information: name, address, phone number and email address.

If you would like to nominate a media outlet, an organisation or an institution, please include details about the person who would represent the organisation. The award is presented only to individuals.

If your nomination is supported by an organisation or a media outlet, please send us the name of a contact person from the institution supporting your nomination.

If your nomination is supported by another individual or individuals, please send us their details and contact information.

Please send the supporting material to the SEEMO office in Vienna, Austria. TV reports should be on DVD, audio reports on CD, while candidatures for print media representatives should include copies of articles. If possible, video, audio and print material in local languages should be accompanied by a brief translation into English. Unfortunately, supporting material cannot be returned. Please make sure to send us copies rather than original material.

The candidates must come from or work in the geographic area covered by SEEMO: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia / FYROM, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.

The winner will be chosen by an international jury composed of distinguished journalists and media experts. Members of the jury cannot be nominated for the award. Self-nominations are not acceptable.

An official press release will announce the winner.

The award will be presented on Nov. 16, 2012 in Vienna, Austria, by Dr. Erhard Busek and Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO secretary general. The winner will be invited to the presentation. All travel expenses will be covered.

Please send your nomination and supporting material to:

SEEMO/IPI Busek Award 2011
Spiegelgasse 2/29
1010 Vienna, Austria
E-mail: [email protected]

For more information:
Tel: +43 1 513 39 40
Fax: +43 1 512 90 15
E-mail: [email protected]

Previous winners of the Dr. Erhard Busek – SEEMO Award for Better Understanding in South East Europe are:

2011: Drago Hedl, (Croatia) journalist, Zagreb-based daily Jutarnji List.
2010: Omer Karabeg (Bosnia and Herzegovina), journalist, South Slavic and Albanian Language Service program of Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL), founder and editor of the radio program Most (Bridge), Prague, Czech Republic.
2009: Boris Bergant (Slovenia), co-founder of the Alpe Adria broadcasting project, former deputy-president of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and former deputy director of Radio Television Slovenia.
2008: Brankica Stankovic (Serbia), author of the TV program Insajder, produced by B92 Television, Belgrade, Serbia.
2007: Milena Dimitrova (Bulgaria), columnist, Sofia-based daily Trud, Bulgaria.
2006: Danko Plevnik (Croatia), columnist, Split-based daily Slobodna Dalmacija.
2005: Brankica Petkovic (Slovenia), Head of the Center for Media Policy, Peace Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2003: Kemal Kurspahic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), former editor-in-chief of the Sarajevo-based daily Oslobodjenje.
2002: Denis Latin (Croatia) author of the TV program Latinica, Croatian Radio Television (HRT).