New web site of the Croatian Environmental Press Centre

Croatia, 1 June, 2006.
PRESS RELEASE

On occassion of the World Environment Day - 5th June 2006
NEW WEB SITE OF THE CROATIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PRESS CENTRE

Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) launched a new official website at the adress www.alertonline.org/press which provides news, useful to environmental journalists in Croatia, informations on environmental legislation, training and education opportunities. The website is part of the CEPC efforts to support development of environmental journalism in Croatia as crucial factor in improving of public understanding of actual environmental problems.

We are open for cooperation with other organisations in projects, formal and unformal initiatives, organisation and participating in educational and expert meetings and workshops, publishing

CEPC will continue to organise journalist meetings such as International Forum of Environmental Journalists held in September 2005 in Pozega, Croatia - where 15 journalists from Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Great Britain, France - took part and training on reporting on environmental devastations in protected area. The CEPC organised several press conferences of officials from the government, public companies, local municipalities and environmental NGOs and field trip to the scene of devastation. The forum was kick-off point for gathering CEPC members and agreeing on future projects.

"Beside this important event, CEPC members participated in numerous journalist meetings, workshops in Budapest, Belgrade, Osijek, Zagreb, reported from Ministerial conference "Biodiversity in Europe" (Plitvice Lakes, 2006), European Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health (Budapest, 2004). We are open for cooperation with other organisations in projects, formal and unformal initiatives, organisation and participating in educational and expert meetings and workshops, publishing.", says Ljiljanka Mitoš-Svoboda, chief of CEPC headoffice.

During 2006, CEPC members published more than 200 croatian language news, reports, commentaries, interviews and book reviews in Independent Environmental Media - Alert www.alertonline.org, only environmentaly focused media in Croatia. Recently, CEPC launched english language version of the Alert, which is currently in preparation phase.

Sources in Croatia

Sources of environmental informations in Croatia

MInistry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning
Environmental Protection Agency
Ministry of Culture - Directorate for Nature protection
State Institute for Nature Protection
State Fund for Environmental Protection and Energy Eficiency
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
State Directorate for Waters
Croatian Food Agency
Fond za zaštitu okoliša

Croatian environmental legislation

- Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning regularly updates list and links of environmental legislation

- Regional Environmental Centre for SEE implemented project Assistance in Environmental Law Drafting in South Eastern Europe which is valuable source on environmental law in South East European region

Services for members

Member of CEPC has benefits:
- use Independent Environmental Media - Alert for publishing stories,
- exchange and share environmental informations and sources via mailing list and in meetings,
- participation in workshops, meetings, seminars, conferences organised by the CEPC
- connecting with other journalists and experts from Croatia and abroad.

Services, cooperation with other organisations

CEPC and it's members are open for cooperation with other organisations in:
- organising and cooperation in organising educational, experts and public meetings
- workshops, courses, seminars, conferences in Croatia
- editing and publishing and individual contribution
- other activities defined in the Statute, which ensure independent work and sustainability of Environmental Press Centre.

Contact

Croatian Environmental Press Centre
D. Neumana 2
31 000 Osijek

tel/faks: ++385 31 201 599
e-mail: pcoh@zamirnet.hr
URL: www.alertonline.org/press

Become a member

Member of the CEPC can be Croatian citizen and foreigner, journalist who systematicaly cover environmental and related issues. More on rights and benefits you can read in relevant articles from the Statute.
Executive Board decides on accepting members after reviewing the application membership form which you can donwload it in
CEPC_membership_application.doc
or

CEPC_membership_application.pdf format.
After filling the application, you should send it signed to our Headoffice by post.

Relevant articles from the Statute

S T A T U T E
Croatian Environmental Press Centre

General Provisions

Article 1
This Statute schedule name, headquarters, operational area, aims, administration, organisation structure, financing, membership, NGOs bodies and other questions of concerns of Croatian Environmental Press Centre (further: CEPC).

Article 2
I. CEPC is non-profit, non-partisan, indenpendent association of environmental journalists and experts.

Article 8
Aims are immplemented with:
- service of fresh, full, quality and right-to-tima informations, news and resources of information from Croatia and the World;
- promotion of environmental journalism in all media;
- organising lectures, tranings, workshops, seminars and other educational and expert meetings;
- publishing program with aim to inform other journalists and general public on environment and environmental journalism;
- cooperation with other journalist organisations, public institutions, NGOS and international organisations.

Article 9
Membership can be regular, supporting and honorary.

Article 10
I. Regular member can become:
- journalist or expert, citizen of the Republic of Croatia who inform on environmental issues, sistematically;
- foreign citizen, journalist or expert who inform on environmental issues, sistematically.
II. Each member of the CEPC has the same rights and obligations from this Statute, nevertheless on his/her race, skin colour, sex, mother tounge, political or other oppinions, national or social parentage, lender, birth, education, social status or other characteristics.
III. Supporting member can become adults who accept this Statute and support aims and work of the CEPC.
IV. Honorary member can become private person who have made special support to achieving aims of the CEPC.

NGO Lender and Financing

Article 12
I. CEPC lender can be:
- financial resources;
- immobilities;
- mobilities and other lender rights;
- intelectual property.
II. The CEPC is non-profit organisation. Financial resources is collected from:
- membership fee;
- donations, sponsorships and gifts;
- self-financing activities;
- revenue from lender and lender rights under croatian legislation;
- revenue from the funds.
III. All financial resources is used only for achieving CEPC’s aims from this Statute.

Current projects

Independent Environmental Media - Alert was started in September, 2003. with aim to publish objective and quality environmental stories on environment in Croatia and the SEE region and to gather environmental journalists.

Alert, as online daily media www.alertonline.org, receives press releases, announcements, reports from numerous governmental and non-governmental organisations, individual experts and cooperate with 15-20 correspondents from Croatia and the region. Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection funded first year of publishing, and from the beggining of 2006, Alert is volunteer effort and the CEPC is seeking for financial and/or equipment support.

Alert has very good cooperation with other simmilar media in Croatia, such as Zamirzine, (www.zamirzine.hr), and from another countries Ekoforum, Serbia (www.ekoforum.org.yu), and Oneworld.net (www.oneworld.net). Alert has own e-mail list for distribution of weekly headlines, with more 500 subscribers.

Strengthening Environmental Journalism in Croatia is long term project with main aim is to provide educational and administrative support to environmental journalists in Croatia and make connections and contacts with other organisations and experienced individuals.

Main activities of the project are:
- providing up-to-date, relevant informations on courses, workshops, seminars, trainings,
- organising workshops and journalist meetings,
- providing relevant informations on environmental protection in Croatia.

As part of the project CEPC organised very succesful International forum of environmental journalists in September 2005., in city Požega, near the Nature Park Papuk. Fiftheen environmental journalists from Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Great Britain and France were trained on reporting on nature devastations. The CEPC provided organisation of numerous press conferences, field trip.

«Environmental journalists and EU» is long term project aiming to assist journalists in better understanding, comparating and reporting on process of accession and integration of Croatia to the European Union.

Main activities are:
- providing informations on relevant EU authorities, legislation and non-governmental organisations,
- connecting journalists with competent Croatian authorities and other relevant sources,
- workshops and meetings.

Initial financial support for this project donated Osijek-baranja county, during 2006.

Introduction to CEPC

Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information.

The organisation was founded in autumn 2004 as part of the project Regional Environmental Press Centre for South and East Europe implemented by the REC, during 2003. Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection funded project of establishing the organisation and first trainings.

Our main projects are «Independent Environmental Media – Alert», «EU and Environmental Journalism in Croatia» and «Strengthening Environmental Journalism in Croatia».

CEPC members organised first International forum of environmental journalists in September 2005 in Požega town,Croatia. Fiftheen environmental journalists from Croatia, Serbia, Hungary, Great Britain and France were trained on reporting on nature devastations. The CEPC provided organisation of numerous press conferences, field trip.

CEPC journalists took part in numerous trainings, conferences, workshops, such as International conference «Biodiversity in Europe» (Plitvice Lakes, Croatia, 2006.), World Health Conference (Budapest, 2005.), «Development of Environmental Information Systems in South and East Europe» (Sofia, 2003.)

Croatian Environmental Press Centre is open for cooperation with other organisations in projects, formal and unformal initiatives, organisation and participating in educational and expert meetings and workshops, publishing.