• We have concentrated our training efforts on the four main targets groups:
  • Training for Practising Journalists and Media Professionals in cooperation with BiH Radio and Television Stations
  • Practical Skills Training for Students from the Journalism Faculties in BiH
  • Training of Local Journalists and Media Professionals as Future Trainers
  • Advanced Level Training for Former Participants of the BBC School of Journalism
    
    
• In addition, the BBC School of Journalism / the Media Centre Sarajevo has:
  • - established itself as a nationally and internationally recognised BiH Centre of Excellence for the provision of broadcast journalism training;
  • - been open to, and indeed actively encouraged, course participants from all areas of BiH;
  • - maintained close contacts with major broadcast media organisations throughout BiH in order to ensure that our training is relevant to the needs of the industry;
  • - started to attract practising journalists and journalism students from outside BiH, thus developing into a wider, regional media and journalism training centre.

We now face some major decisions about the future. 

Most international donor organisations are in the process of reducing their financial support for Bosnia-Herzegovina.  This is also the case with the main funder of the BBC's training programme, the British Government's Department for International Development (DfID):  DfID funding for our training project will cease  early in 2003.  
This development did not, of course, come unexpectedly, and our strategy for the past 18 months has been to ensure that the Media Centre, and the journalism training activities at the Centre, will not be affected once DfID funding comes to an end.

• Our strategy has been, and continues to be, to fully hand over all media training activities to the Media Centre Sarajevo,
  and to continue to work with and to support the Media Centre's training activities in future.

We have, jointly with the Media Centre, taken a number of steps to prepare for the time after the DfID funding discontinues:

• We have actively and successfully pursued external, fully-funded training contracts - in other words: we have been preparing to operate on a fully commercial basis, whereby all direct costs as well as overheads are fully recovered.
• We have taken steps to lower our operating costs - for example by decreasing our reliance on UK-based trainers and experts.
• We have started to generate income - for example by charging administration fees for participants in our longer (10-week) training courses.
• Most importantly:  we have trained a total of 12 BiH radio and tv professionals, in intensive and tailor-made eight week courses in the UK and in Sarajevo, who are now BBC-accredited 'Local Trainers' - they have already begun to take over many of the BBC training activities at the Media Centre, and they are and will continue to be available for the Media Centre's future training activities.
  

FUTURE TRAINING ACTIVITIES:

Training Courses undertaken at the Media Centre will address editorial, production, technical, managerial and commercial competencies across the broadcasting sector.

Such training will range from basic and introductory levels, to advanced and highly advanced levels. All courses, however, will concentrate on the transfer of relevant practical and marketable skills, thus ensuring that the needs and requirements of the broadcast media in BiH will be met and that successful participants will be attractive to potential employers.

The training activities at the Media Centre will concentrate on various groups of 'trainees':

• Courses for Practising Journalists and Media Professionals in cooperation with BiH Radio and Television Stations
  The Media Centre will continue to act as an external training provider for major BiH radio and television organisations, such as the entity broadcasters Federal RTV and  RT RS, and the newly-established PBS.
• The Media Centre will continue to act as an external training provider for commercial and private radio and tv stations, as well as for regional, cantonal or local stations.
• The Media Centre will offer both off-the-shelf and tailor-made courses, workshops and seminars to these organisations,  but will also undertake training on demand, in order to meet specific requirements identified by individual stations.
• Training will be available not only at the Media Centre in Sarajevo, but also on-station.
• The overall training schedule will ensure that existing broadcast journalists will be able to receive either basic or advanced formal training.  It will also offer the possibility for “new technology” skills training;  in addition it will enable radio and television stations which have identified particular internal training needs to approach the Media Centre as a “one-stop training provider”.

• Practical Skills Training for Students at the Journalism Faculties in BiH
  Since early 2001, the Media Centre has established a close working relationship with the Journalism Faculties in Banja Luka, in Mostar and in Tuzla. These training modules are part of, and are integrated with, the curriculum of the Media Courses offered at the Journalism Faculties. The target groups are 3rd and 4th year students  at the Journalism Faculties, and the timing, content and duration of the courses is established in close cooperation with the Faculties. Ultimate responsibility for the qualitative content of these training modules will, however, remain at all times with the Media Centre.

• On-Demand Training Provision on behalf of other National or International Media Organisations
  The Media Centre will continue to be available as a reliable and experienced partner, to organise training courses, media events, media round-tables, etc for other national and international media organisations.