The Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media are patrons of the ADAMI 2016 awards gala

Press Release

September 30, 2016

The ADAMI Media Prize is proud to announce that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, Ms. Dunja Mijatović, are the patrons of the 2016 awards gala of the ADAMI Media Prize for Cultural Diversity in Eastern Europe. The prize applies to the six EU Eastern Partnership countries -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine -- and awards outstanding television, film, and online programmes that promote themes of integration, migration, and ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. The awards gala will be held in Kiev on November 24th.

In cooperation with the Council of Europe, the director of the ADAMI Media Prize will present the ADAMI project to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), in Strasbourg, France, on October 11th, 2016. Three filmmakers from the South Caucasus who won the top prizes in the 2015 competition will also travel to Strasbourg, and will screen their films before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe works to guarantee human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe; the Secretary General of the Council of Europe is responsible for the strategic management of the organization. The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in the OSCE participating States, provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom, and helps participating States abide by their commitments to freedom of expression and free media. “As a prize that seeks to promote peaceful co-existence between peoples in Eastern Europe through media, we are thrilled to have the patronage of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and believe their auspices will boost larger interest in topics of cultural diversity and integration,” said Mr. Stefan Tolz, programme director of the ADAMI Media Prize.

Television broadcasters, producers, journalists, and young filmmakers of the six participating countries can apply for the competition and send in their films, videos, and online content connected to integration and cultural diversity until October 10th, 2016. An international jury will view and evaluate all entries. Producers and directors/journalists that are nominated in one of the six ADAMI categories are invited to the gala award ceremony in Kiev, where they will have the opportunity to network with broadcaster representatives and media professionals from across Europe.

About the Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is the continent's leading human rights organisation. It includes 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union. The Council of Europe promotes human rights through international conventions, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Convention on Cybercrime. It monitors member states' progress in these areas and makes recommendations through independent expert monitoring bodies. For additional information, visit: www.coe.int.

About the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more atwww.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and at www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.

Focus Week: TV Categories

Mark your calendars: There’s are 3 weeks left until the 2016 competition closes!

TV stations and TV production companies from the EU Eastern Partnership countries can apply for the ADAMI Media Prize. There are categories for Information (non-fiction), Entertainment (fiction), and News and Short non-Fiction.

The 2015 winner for Information was the documentary film Niko’s Way, by director Giorgi Tskhvediani which aired on the Georgian Public Broadcaster.

The film follows the life of a young teacher, Niko, who is teaching Georgian in a small ethnic Armenian village in the Javakheti region of Georgia. Niko is faced with a dilemma: Should he return to his hometown to his pregnant wife and university studied? Or should he stay in the village to teach his young students and help build their future?

Watch the trailer for Niko's Way here.

STAR POWER

Ukrainian TV presenter Yuri Makarov (ADAMI jury 2015) expressed his support for the ADAMI initiative, explaining the central role media plays in promoting tolerance among society.

Focus Week: Young ADAMI

The Young ADAMI category is open to students, filmmakers, and journalists up to age 28 from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine. For the 2016 competition, we are looking for films and TV video formats that cover themes of integration, migration, and diversity. If your film appeared on TV, at select film festivals in the region, or was part of a film or journalism school thesis, it can be eligible for the prize.

The 2015 winning film for Young ADAMI, How to Cross (from Jiliz to Jiliz), follows a small girl Lousine in the village of Jiliz. She dreams of visiting her relatives who live on the other side of the stream – which also divides the village between Georgia and Armenia. Although only a kilometer separates them, the border forces the families to travel 100km to reach each other. Lousine and the villagers find themselves facing the questions: What is a border? Why do we need a border?

Watch the trailer here.

How to Cross screened at the 2015 CinéDoc Tbilisi International Documentary Film Festival.

The 2015 winners of the Young ADAMI Media Prize, filmmakers Marine Kocharyan and Sona Kocharyan, offered a few words to future applicants: “Young people need appreciation of their work. The ADAMI Media Prize creates a space for young people who are striving for diversity to use their talent. It is very motivating and encouraging! We recommend all young people to apply for the Young ADAMI prize.”
 
Closing date for applications for Young ADAMI is October 10, 2016. Contact us with your questions!

Focus Week: Online Categories

The ADAMI Media Prize has two categories awarding online materials. We are looking to award the best websites and the best videos online that show themes of integration, migration, and cultural diversity in the region.

The 2015 ADAMI Media Prize winner for Online Video, 30 Families of Griz, by Oktay Namazov, takes you into the mountains of Azerbaijan, and explores how the isolated village of Griz has managed to maintain it's unique language and culture.

You can watch the trailer for the video here.

The 2015 winner for Web Pages, www.chai-khana.org, is a cross-border web platform sharing stories from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The site's monthly editions have covered themes ranging from environmentalism, entrepreneurship, and youth in the South Caucasus.

ADAMI caught up with filmmaker Oktay Namazov on the set of his latest film in Sheki, Azerbaijan. "This is a really good opportunity for all young filmmakers. To shoot, to make their own films, to tell their own stories," he said. 

Press Release

30 August 2016

ProCredit Holding and ADAMI Media Prize sign cooperation agreement to promote cultural diversity in Eastern Europe

The ADAMI Media Prize for Cultural Diversity in Eastern Europe is proud to announce a new cooperation agreement with ProCredit Holding AG & Co KGaA, based in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, for the year 2016.  

Under this new agreement, ProCredit Holding will be supporting the ADAMI Media Prize in promoting cultural diversity and establishing networking opportunities for filmmakers, audio-visual journalists, and broadcasters in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, which are the countries in which the ADAMI Media Prize operates.

ProCredit Holding will provide funding for the 2016 ADAMI competition and will support the gala award ceremony on 24 November in Kiev. This internationally broadcasted event awards outstanding film, television, and online programmes that promote national, ethnic, religious, or cultural diversity among the peoples of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

ProCredit Holding is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, an international group of banks serving small and medium sized enterprises (SME), which focuses on Eastern Europe. “As a banking group striving to operate responsibly, ProCredit shares the underlying ethical principles of the ADAMI Media Prize and is pleased to support it,” said Borislav Kostadinov, Member of the Board of Management of ProCredit Holding. The ADAMI Media Prize spotlights the work of journalists and media professionals in the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries. ADAMI’s goal is to promote peaceful coexistence between peoples by stimulating new ideas and perspectives in media, and promoting media interest in topics of cultural diversity and integration.

Broadcasters and producers of the six countries can send in their films, videos, and online content connected to topics of cultural diversity until October 10th (the entry deadline). An international jury will view and evaluate all entries during its jury sessions, which are hosted by the city of Batumi (Georgia) on October 24th-28th. Producers and directors/journalists who have been nominated in one of ADAMI's six categories are invited to the gala award ceremony in Kiev, where they also have the opportunity to network with broadcaster representatives and media professionals from all across Europe. The gala award ceremony will be broadcasted live internationally.

About the ADAMI Media Prize

The ADAMI Media Prize is an initiative by the German non-profit organization 'Forschungsgruppe Modellprojekte e.V.' and is funded by the Federal Foreign Office (Germany). It is conducted in partnership with the European Broadcasting Union, Deutsche Welle Akademie, the German Society for Eastern European Studies and supported by media partners like the French-German cultural channel ARTE, the Georgian Public Broadcaster, the National Television of Ukraine, and TeleRadio Moldova. For additional information, visit: www.adamimediaprize.eu.

About the ProCredit group

ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the international ProCredit group, comprising banks with a focus on Eastern Europe that have specialised in serving small and medium-sized enterprises. As of 30 June 2016, the group’s total assets amounted to EUR 6 billion. The total outstanding loan volume was EUR 4.1 billion, against customer deposits totaling EUR 3.8 billion, and its equity base stood at EUR 608 million. The core shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA are the strategic investors Zeitinger Invest and ProCredit Staff Invest (an investment vehicle for ProCredit staff members), the Dutch DOEN Foundation, KfW and the IFC (World Bank Group). For additional information, visit: www.procredit-holding.com.

The ADAMI 2016 competition is open, and we are awaiting your submissions! 

We are looking for audio-visual work made by journalists and filmmakers in the Eastern European region that cover stories of cultural diversity. Are you interested? Applicants can register and learn more through our APPLY page. 

To find out more about ADAMI, have a look at our ABOUT page.

And if you didn't catch the 2015 ADAMI gala, now is your chance! Take a look at some of our photos, see the works of the winners, or watch the whole gala, online, on our youtube page. 

And congratulations again to our 2015 ADAMI Ambassador, Ukrainian jazz singer Jamala, on winning the 2016 Eurovision song contest!

You can watch her performance at the 2015 ADAMI gala here:

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impressions from last year

We've been reflecting on what a great first year we had running the 2015 ADAMI Media Prize. Here's what some of our ADAMI friends and winners had to say about their experience: 

“The ADAMI Media Prize brought me great happiness. I will always be grateful for it. ”

— Giorgi Tskhvediani, ADAMI Media Prize Winner for Non-Fiction 2015

“ADAMI is like a big, wide bridge. It connects not only different cultures, but different people as well. ADAMI creates the opportunity to talk to each other, and most of all, to understand.”

— Tural Asadov, Azerbaijan TV presenter, Jury member 2015

“In our global world, there’s no need for local filmmakers to look overseas for success. You have the ADAMI Media Prize right in front of you. Participating in the ADAMI Media Prize was an invaluable experience for me. I advise people with similar backgrounds to seek this opportunity, and succeed.”

— Oktay Namazov, ADAMI Media Prize Winner for Online Videos 2015

“ADAMI is a unifying event, that not only brings together people of different cultures and nationalities. It also inspires young filmmakers and journalists to create, to share their thoughts and ideas. Last year surprised me with the diversity of films presented at ADAMI.”

— Leila Ismailova, TV presenter, ADAMI Gala 2015 host

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It's going to be an exciting next few months with ADAMI. Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our newsletter!