The KosovaPress News Agency has gone beyond the borders by providing access to accurate information to all its readers, said the American ambassador in Prishtina, Jeffrey Hovenier.

On the 25th anniversary of the establishment of KosovaPress, Hovenier said that despite the barriers, this agency has managed to convey accurate information to the audience. While he has assessed that KosovaPress has been a pioneer in building news.

“While we celebrate the 25th birthday of KosovaPress as one of the first agencies, while at that time Kosovo has faced the brutal ethnic cleansing of the Milosevic regime, on the other hand, the people of Kosovo have had to face the task of building institutions from the beginning. In 1999, KosovaPress was created where it was located in the mountains with very bad offices and there were only a few media portals, which faced the same thing. I remember very well, most of people in Kosovo received the news from international broadcasters, and when we look back and think about how it was, I was in Rambouillet when we started 25 years ago and when I remember the media representation of Kosovo, if I compare it as it seems 25 years, now Kosovo has had and has a very active news industry and is very stable while still developing and has a privilege and responsibility to comment on the consolidation and formation of Europe’s newest state. Whereas as Kosovo we have already become independent, KosovaPress has gone beyond the borders and has enabled access to accurate information… Despite the fact that there is no printed newspaper, even an ordinary citizen, even a six-year-old, which defies the internet gets the news on time. And you were a pioneer as KosovaPress in all this, Mr. Krasniqi”, said Hovenier.

While he thanked the KosovaPress News Agency for bringing many different agencies to Kosovo, as he said, this shows that international cooperation is growing further.

“I also want to thank you for bringing others from different agencies, this shows that international cooperation is growing further and your presence as honored guests shows what is the important platform to have a comprehensive discussion, and the challenges that we want to keep and preserve and further cultivate freedom of expression, not only in Kosovo, but in the region and in the world… I want to promote this international cooperation, strengthening the capacities of journalism by broadcasting these success stories”, said Hovenier.

He also emphasized that they will always be partners in addressing the challenges faced by the media.

While adding that the KosovaPress News Agency in this direction will continue with achievements for over 250 years to come.

“We will be the partners in addressing these challenges. Congratulations KosovaPress, congratulations to all your partners who have reached this last quarter, and I know that you will continue for another 25 years and for over 250 years to come”, said Hovenier.

Otherwise, KosovaPress News Agency hosted the international conference “Freedom of speech borders”, in honor of the 25th anniversary of its establishment, which was held on Thursday in Prishtina.

This conference brought together in our capital more than 20 world news agencies from all over Europe and the Balkans. Members of the largest European network of news agencies EANA (www.newsalliance.org) as well as that of South-East Europe ABNA SEE (www.abnase.com), networks where KosovaPress is a member, were present at this event.

Especially for this conference, Nataliya Kostina, head of the Department for Foreign Relations at the Ukrainian News Agency ‘Ukrinform’, also came from Kyiv.

The conference had two panels, where journalists had the opportunity to ask questions during the two panels and during the conference.

The first panel focused on the contemporary challenges facing news agencies and the media in this period of great global change.

The first panel was moderated by Branka Gabriela Vojvodic from the Croatian News Agency HINA and consisted of: Alan Marshall from the United Kingdom’s PA Media Group, Camille Bouissou from the French News Agency AFP, Natalia Kostina from the Ukrainian News Agency UKRINFORM, Aimilios Perdiakris from the Greek News Agency ANA-MPA, and Rodolfo Cardarelli from the Italian News Agency ANSA.

This panel discussed critical issues such as disinformation, technological advances, safety risks for journalists and the financial sustainability of news agencies in the landscape of the contemporary media world.

In the second panel, the speakers were the president of the Prishtina MALL Board, Fatmir Zymberi, the leader of the UBT College Edmond Hajrizi, university professor Besa Luzha, Kushtrim Krasniqi from the Kosovo Olympic Committee, and Taulant Hodaj from the Kosovo Football Federation, who presented views about the possibility of creating synergies to support innovative initiatives that advance social prosperity.

The conference was held on Thursday at 10:00, at the Emerald Hotel, Prishtina.