Transition Initiatives: Bosnia & Herzegovina
Program Summary: November 2000
The Balkans conflict created a humanitarian disaster of major proportions and wreaked havoc with economies and infrastructures across the former Yugoslavia. The United States played a lead role in brokering the Dayton Peace Accords and is contributing greatly to post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction.
| 2/96 |
5/00 |
$2,990,890 |
$1,059,000 |
OTI first engaged in Bosnia in February, 1996, immediately after the signing of the peace accords. Recognizing that donor assistance was concentrated in the capital, Sarajevo, OTI chose to focus its activities in regions of Bosnia experiencing the greatest tension and lacking a donor presence.
OTI also determined that its impact in Bosnia could be heightened by focusing on media development.
To that end, OTI supported media messages designed to reshape hard-line, nationalist attitudes, promote respect for human rights and basic freedoms, and deliver objective information. Working closely with a range of print and electronic media outlets, OTI gained a reputation for its ability to help Bosnians quickly and effectively develop a targeted media response to rapidly changing conditions.
"Without OTI support, freedom of information and increased political discussion could not occur in many regions of Bosnia-Herzegovina, particularly the Republika Srpska."
- Dr. Maureen Taylor, an evaluation of media grants in Bosnia, April 1999. |
For example, when a decision was reached to make Brcko a special self-governing district within Bosnia-Herzegovina to be shared by both entities, a political crisis ensued. Violence and mass demonstrations prompted OTI's local partners to create an information campaign to counter misinformation and rumors about the decision. The campaign included television and radio public service announcements, roundtable discussions, and the distribution of thousands of copies of the text of the decision on Brcko and of interviews with political leaders.
During the Kosovo refugee crisis, OTI's grantee produced a series of three information call-in shows, which explored the historic developments behind the crisis.
OTI's assistance in Bosnia was also designed to foster alternative media in critical, underserved areas of the country. More than 75 percent of journalists interviewed for OTI's media evaluation stated that OTI was their only source of funding for equipment and operating expenses, suggesting that OTI was able to break new ground by reaching out to regions and media outlets that no other international organization was able to assist.
OTI closed its Bosnia program in May 2000, handing off its media activities to the USAID Mission. OTI/Bosnia's partners within the U.S. government included the USAID Mission, U.S. Information Service, and the U.S. Embassy. Other partners included the Independent Media Commission, the U.N. Office of the High Representative, Ronco and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
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