On 17 – 18 September 2020, Constitutional Court of Albania, represented by Ms. Alma Çomo, Head of the Public and International Relations Department and coordinator on the right to information, took part in the online South East Europe Media Conference on the topic: “The new frontline: working together to foster media freedom.” The Conference was organized by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OSCE Mission to Serbia in collaboration with other field operations from the region.
The first day proceedings of this regional conference were focused on the safety of journalists and the opportunities and challenges in establishing efficient national mechanisms for their protection, at the time when the growing lack of safety of journalists has become a widespread concern across the region. The online presentations and debates were also focused on the possibility of unifying national databases, analysis and reporting on attacks and violence against journalists, what would provide the most accurate and reliable information about the nature and extent of media freedom violations.
The issues tackled by the second day presentations and debates were mainly related with: journalism in time of COVID-19, the indispensable role it plays in times of public health emergencies aiming to inform the public about the critical situation and monitor the measures undertaken, the role of journalism in a global pandemic and COVID-19’s impact on media freedom in the Western Balkans.