Podgorica, (MINA) - Joint action, exchange of experiences and mutual support among media workers are key to strengthening the journalistic community and creating concrete improvements in working conditions, it was said at the conference “Laying the Foundations for the Future of Journalism”.

The two-day conference in Podgorica was organized by the Media Trade Union of Montenegro (SMCG) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and is part of the “Stand Up for Journalism” project supported by the European Union (EU).

EFJ President Maja Sever said that the daily work of journalists is becoming increasingly difficult, that attacks on journalists are becoming more frequent, but also that journalists are facing pressure and a lack of genuine understanding of their work.

Sever said that solidarity is what unites them and gives them the strength to persevere.

EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutierrez said that journalistic organizations are too often consumed by daily tasks, leaving little room to step back and think strategically about the future, key issues that could transform journalism and, consequently, the way workers in this sector are organized.

He said that times are difficult and increasingly hostile towards journalism, but that even in such a challenging scenario, new forms of cooperation are emerging, aimed at organizing resistance and protecting the public interest.

SMCG president Radomir Krackovic, said that, in order to lay the foundations for the future of journalism, it is important to start with the essential question – under what conditions do journalists work today?

“In Montenegro, the average media worker is underpaid, overburdened and too often unprotected”, Krackovic said.

He added that journalists are working in an increasingly insecure environment, noting that in the past year alone, SMCG recorded 33 cases of attacks and threats against media workers.