Institutional transparency and open political communication are key to building trust between citizens and authorities. When institutions share information about their decisions and activities honestly and clearly, it enables citizens to stay informed, participate in debates, and influence decisions that affect their lives.

The Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) invites you to attend the conference “Driving Institutional Accountability through Open Political Communication”, which will take place on December 4, 2024, starting at 1:00 PM at Hotel Holiday Inn – Skopje.

The conference will foster a discussion on improving the transparency and accountability of public institutions and political actors by raising the standards of political communication.

Opening remarks will be delivered by:

• Zaneta Trajkoska, Director of ICS
• Hristijan Mickoski, Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia
• Daniel Fieller, Charge d’affaires, British Embassy Skopje

The conference will place special focus on the responsibility of political actors and institutions to ensure honest and effective communication with the public, especially during sensitive pre-election and election periods. It will also explore the role of the media in reporting on political processes.

REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE!

*Travel expenses will be covered for participants coming from outside Skopje.

The conference is organized by the Institute of Communication Studies within the project Use Facts, which is supported by British Embassy Skopje.

For further inquiries, please contact: Aleksandra Temenugova, Program Manager

AGENDA

Speakers

Dr. Zaneta Trajkoska

Dr. Zaneta Trajkoska is an Associate Professor and Director of the Institute of Communication Studies in Skopje. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, master’s in communication and management, and a doctorate in political science. Her work experience includes research associate and researcher in the field of media and journalism, public relations and political communication. She has more than 25 years of experience in leading international and domestic media and journalism education projects, strategic communications, public interest campaigns and developing study programmes in journalism and public relations. Trajkoska is one of the founders of the Macedonian Press Centre, the Macedonian Institute for Media, as well as the School of Journalism and Public Relations and the Institute of Communication Studies.

Dr. Iva Nenadić

Iva Nenadić is Scientific Coordinator of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom at the European University Institute and an Assistant Professor in Journalism at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Political Science. She researches media pluralism and the integrity of the political information sphere in the context of the growing power of technology companies and their intersecting political and business interests. She is a member of the Committee of Experts on the impacts of generative artificial intelligence for freedom of expression (MSI-AI) at the Council of Europe, and in the Management Committee of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO).

Dr. Eleonora Serafimovska

Dr. Eleonora Serafimovska is a Full Professor at the Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research (Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) where she has worked since 1996. Her theoretical and research interest are in the field of human interaction and communication, personal and collective identity, political attitudes and values, mass communication and communication in cyberspace, while teaching Communication Research Methods and Media Psychology.

Noemi Arcidiacono

Noemi Arcidiacono currently serves as the Associate Project Officer for the OSCE/ODIHR Support to Electoral Reforms in the Western Balkans project. Previously, she worked as a Political Analyst during the 2024 OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) in North Macedonia. Over the course of her career, she has participated in OSCE/ODIHR EOMs as a Short-Term Observer, Long-Term Observer, and Political Analyst in several countries. Additionally, she worked in EU electoral assistance missions in various African countries. Earlier in her career, Noemi was actively involved in the NGO sector, where she co-founded and directed an organisation focused on youth-led election observation missions.

Dr. Alenka Jelen

Dr Alenka Jelen is Associate Professor and Head of Division of Communications, Media and Culture at the University of Stirling. Her research focusing on political communication, gender in media and public relations, and health communication has been published in international academic journals, including Public Relations Inquiry, British Politics and Public Relations Review. She is currently the Editor of the leading critical public relations journal Public Relations Inquiry.

Dr. Václav Stetka

Václav Stetka is Reader (Associate Professor) in Comparative Political Communication at Loughborough University in the UK, where he has been working since 2016. Before that he had held academic and research positions at Masaryk University in Brno, Charles University in Prague and the University of Oxford. His research interests encompass the role of media in political polarization and the rise of populism and illiberalism, as well as questions of media freedom and pluralism. His recent book is titled “The Illiberal Public Sphere: Media in Polarized Societies” (Palgrave 2024, with Sabina Mihelj).

Frosina Dimeska

Frosina Dimeska is a journalist at the BIRN Balkan Research Network. She works mainly on investigative stories about corruption, and her focus is on human rights, transparency, media and other socially relevant issues. She has twenty years of journalistic experience.

Marija Miteva, M.A.

Marija Miteva, M.А., has been the spokesperson of the RNM Government since October 2024. She has more than 10 years of progressive work experience, holding positions as an advisor for legal affairs in the RNM Government and in the City of Skopje. Before being appointed to the current position, Miteva was part of the recent parliamentary composition as MP from VMRO-DPMNE, participating in the creation and review of important laws and political decisions.

Kurt Strand

Kurt Strand, born 1955, journalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with +40 years of experience within Danish media as writer, TV- and radio anchor. Currently, he is working with constructive tools and concepts to avoid or reduce polarization in public space. Over the years, Kurt has written several books on journalism and politics, among others is Listen Louder which addresses how media and journalism can counter polarization.

Dragan Sekulovski

Dragan Sekulovski is the Director of the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and Regional Director of Safejournalists.net, where he has contributed to advancing media freedom, safety of journalists and legal reforms in North Macedonia and the Western Balkans. He is completing his PhD in Security Studies, focusing on the safety of journalists, and has over 12 years of expertise in media policy, legal reforms, and strategic planning in EU-funded projects and international organisations such as KAS, OSCE, CoE, UNESCO, and UNDP. He has authored / edited numerous publications on media law and safety of journalists and has been a member of government working groups for media related legislation since 2012.

Aleksandra Temenugova

Aleksandra Temenugova is a Programme Manager at ICS with a focus on promoting media literacy. In ICS, she manages several projects, activities and research in the field of journalism and the media, including the research Determining Political Harmful Narratives HARM-TIVE. She coordinated the European project Macedonian Media and Information Literacy Coalition (MAMIL), which in 2019 the European Commission recognised as one of the ten best media literacy projects in Europe. From 2008-2018, Temenugova managed the study programme in journalism at the School of Journalism and Public Relations in Skopje. She has seven years of experience as a TV journalist.