The winners of the Annual Media Award for Tolerance, presented by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia — and this year also the EU Mission — participated in a study visit to Finland, the country currently chairing the OSCE, in a year that also marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act (1975).

The first-prize winners in the categories of TV/radio, print, and online media — Olivera Milošević (“Politika”), Aleksandar Đokić (weekly “Vreme” portal), Slađana Grnčarski (Journalists’ Association of Serbia), and Amela Bajrović (Freemedia.rs portal) — had the opportunity in Finland to learn about good practices in the fields of media, equality protection, and journalists’ rights. During numerous meetings with hosts, discussions were held on the role of public media services, union protection for journalists, the rights of minority and vulnerable groups, as well as the challenges in maintaining professional and responsible journalism.

Particularly inspiring was the conversation with Rainer Hiltunen, Finnish lawyer and Ombudsman for Gender Equality, who presented Finland’s equality protection system. Mika Ojamies, Head of International Relations at Yle (Finland’s public broadcasting service), spoke about international cooperation and the responsibility of public broadcasters, while Salla Nazarenko from the Union of Journalists in Finland presented effective mechanisms for journalist protection.

As part of the visit, a meeting was also held with representatives of the Office for Gender Equality and Equal Treatment of Estonia — Merli Kaus, Kaisa Knight, and Maria Laanjärv — who shared Estonia’s experiences and challenges in the field of equality and equal treatment.

The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality announces that this June, a call for applications will be opened for the tenth, jubilee edition of the Annual Media Award for Tolerance, which will be open to journalists from all registered media in Serbia — both local and national, print and electronic. The aim of the competition is to promote values such as equality, tolerance, and the fight against discrimination, prejudice, and stereotypes, especially towards minority and marginalized groups.