Journalists from eight countries in South East Europe produced the first draft of the first Ethics Guidelines for Online Journalists in the region during a seminar organised in Sarajevo by NetNovinar Journalism Training Center and SEENPM. The Guidelines are planned to be open for global discussion in September 2006.

The training 'Editorial ethics for online journalists' was held in Mediacenter Sarajevo, April 24 – 28, 2006. Ten editors and journalists from media organisations in the SEENPM (South East European Network for Professionalisation of the Media) member countries participated in the training.
The participants were introduced to the best practices in the field of journalistic ethics used in the Western countries. The focus was on the BBC Editorial Guidelines (http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines), which served  as a framework for creating the first ethics guidelines for online journalists in SEE.

Through a vibrant 5-day discussion and exchange of experiences, the SEE draft guidelines were designed to fit the cultural and regional experiences and recommendations of the training participants.
The aim of developing the SEE guidelines is to help journalists in overcoming problems they encounter in their work, as well as to advance cooperation among online journalists in the region.
Lead trainer David Brewer, an international expert in online journalism, stressed the challenge of adjusting the ethical standards of online journalism in the developed countries to the transitional region of South East Europe.
The following editors and journalists selected by the SEENPM member organisations participated in the training:
1. Angelina Filipović, journalist – Mina news agency, Podgorica, Serbia and Montenegro2. Olivera Ilić, editor – www.kragujevac.co.yu, Kragujevac, Serbia and Montenegro 3. Ana Jurišić, journalist - RTV Slovenia web portal www.rtvslo.si, Ljubljana, Slovenia4. Nataša Mirković, assistant editor - “Dnevnik” online edition www.dnevnik.co.yu, Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro5. Mihai Mitrica, news and web editor - “Business Magazine” www.businessmagazin.ro, Bucharest, Romania 6. Endre Novak, journalist - “Origo” news web portal www.origo.hu , Budapest, Hungary7. Aurel Stratan, editor-in-chief – “Info-Prim Neo” news agency, Chisinau, Moldavia8. Ekaterina Tarpomanova, journalist - Bulgarian national radio, Sofia, Bulgaria9. Anita Vojnovska,  editor – Macedonian web portal for ecology  www.eko.net.mk, Skopje, Macedonia10. Iva Vukušuć, journalist - “Radio 101", Zagreb, CroatiaIn cooperation with the lead trainer, the participants shall continue to work on the development of the ethics guidelines for online journalists in South East Europe through a collaborative software platform developed by NetNovinar Journalism Training Center.

The guidelines will be available for contribution by the global public in September 2006 via www.NetNovinar.org - web portal for journalism education and networking of media professionals.
David Brewer has already posted about the course in his Media Ideas blog http://mediaideas.blogspot.com/
NetNovinar Journalism Training Center is a project of Mediacentar Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Investigative Journalism Center, Zagreb (Croatia).
For further information, please contact the NetNovinar team:  team@netnovinar.org.