DANAS I SUTRA 50^th ISSUE

Olivier Salgado

In mid October, UNMIK celebrated the 50^th edition of the Danas I Sutra Magazine.

My Name is Mario M and I’m the Editor in charge of Danas I Sutra

UNMIK on Air was invited to this celebration.

Today we are having the 50^th issue of our Magazine which is produced once in a month. It’s issued since 2001. Danas I sutra is a magazine produced by press office of Division of Public Information of UNMIK and aims at informing the minority audience in Kosovo, primarily Kosovo Serbs readership. Our goal is to give to this communities and objective and reliable information.

We must know that in Kosovo there are isolated communities, who can not reach information that easily, we are sure that this information is welcomed by this people.

Music and under

Currently UNMIK is printing and distributing 15,000 copies of the magazine throughout Kosovo, and even without the aid of a professional market research institute, which has yet to be establish in Kosovo we have been able to in part track the effect of the magazine, as there is good public response to the magazine.

Hello

Hua Jang, Chief of UNMIK’s DPI

I haven’t spoken to anyone in particular about this but on several occasions I have to say I saw when I went down to the Serbian enclave, I saw them actually reading this, so that’s a sign I assume, that it’s been very well received.

The field production team of Danas Is Sutra is the the Community Information Centre Information Assistants (CICs). When not working on the magazine the Information Centre Information Assistants (CICs), work at the Centers which act as information offices for the community, both to communicate to the local population and as a place where the locals can voice their needs and opinions to UNMIK.

(Mario)

We have ten information clerks in the field, in each of the Kosovo Regions we are having an office. These offices are having two information clerks who are working on gathering information which would be useful and interesting to our readerships.

The CICs project started in 2001 with a donation from the Japanese government, which was managed by UNMIK DPI. With the wind-up of the Trust Fund, a decision was made by UNMIK to retain the CICs, as the network provides a very useful means of communication with the communities.

The success of the CIC was recognised in July 2003 when the CICs were fully integrated into UNMIK DPI and they became full UNMIK DPI staff members. They are now part of the Press Office.

PDSRSG Larry Rossin :

The real thing I also want to thank you for the service you are doing for the communities, in which you are working and you are living.

The future of Kosovo is one we still don’t know, obviously, we have the Eide Report here which sets us on the stage for the way forward.

But whatever the outcome is, I think by now at this stage what we do know is, that the Serbian people who live here in Kosovo for the most part are committed to staying in Kosovo, if they weren’t they would have left a long time ago as they live under difficult circumstances.

The more we can work through you to reach out to those members of the population here and to find ways to make it easier for them to stay and respond to their needs, as we understand them, the better off we all are.

The CICs perform a variety of information & community outreach activities:

-distribute UNMIK information material and Danas I Sutra n the communities

-assist Serbian-speaking journalists in covering UNMIK activities

-visit schools and community centres, to keep in touch with the local public

-As communicators for the local community allowing, local opinion to be passed back to DPI on community developments

-cover events in their region for inclusion in Danas I Sutra and keeping DPI informed

- generate articles for Danas I Sutra

The celebration was also the occasion for PDSRSG Larry Rossin to give to the team certificates related to their participation in the success of the Danas I sutra Magazine.

Later, Wilton Fonseca, Deputy Director of DPI couldn’t hide his satisfaction in working with the team of Danas I Sutra.

Of course I’m very very proud of the magazine, it’s a very well done magazine, graphically it’s very good, and I think the people who have been writing it have been very careful about the contents, I’m proud for every single reason, it’s a very happy day for all of us.

Music and under.

In 2001, UNMIK DPI working with the Japanese created Dana’s I Sutra, what will the magazine become when UNMIK leaves?

Hua jang

I’m two minds or I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, yes, I would like this magazine just keep on going, but on the other hand, we all know that UNMIK is not going to stay here forever, so we hope that if future status will be resolved, …. I hope that by then that, we no longer need this sort of information for the Serbian community.

The Editor, Mario Maglov would prefer his magazine to take another way

Mario

I would like that this people who work on this magazine today would continue to do their job and that this magazine in future would be an independent magazine.

The future begins with tomorrow, for the staff of Danas I Sutra, another the production of another edition awaits.

This is Olivier Salgado, for UNMIK on Air, thank you for listening.