Field visit by Deputy Head of Mission at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade Mr. Geir Hakon Johansen

"On Thursday, November 4, the American Councils office in Skopje had the honor to welcome Deputy Head of Mission at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade Mr. Geir Hakon Johansen. The visit took place within the frames of the recently awarded regional grant on Media Education Exchange Talks (MEET) Western Balkans involving six regional countries, namely Kosovo as the carrier of the project, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia. Media Education Exchange Talks program started initially as a pilot media literacy themed exchange between high school students and teachers from Serbia and Kosovo - sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade (October 2020-May 2021). The regional edition of the program, MEET Western Balkans (November 2021-June 2022) is funded by the Balkan Trust for Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade. Through Media Education Exchange Talks (MEET) Western Balkans, American Councils for International Education aims to strengthen the demand for objective, fact-based, reliable information in local communities by fostering an expanded domestic audience, promote media and digital literacy and increase educational and cultural exchange among Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. American Councils will bring high school teachers together with university and high school students to disclose and prevent disinformation, falsified information, and propaganda through examination of news discourse, media agendas, infotainment phenomena, public/private interests in media, film, music and more. MEET is designed to create a network of teachers and students across the Western Balkans as a basis for future multilateral societal collaboration toward media freedom. More information about the project can be found on each of the AC Office websites in the region in English. Local versions are available all American Councils WB participating countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia."