At the Museum of Contemporary Art, where the Voices Festival began today, the exhibition “Pret-a-porter Fashion Show of Threats and Attacks on Journalists in Croatia” was installed. It was conceived by the Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) and lists the harshest attacks and threats that journalists in Croatia, unfortunately, face every day.
All interested are invited to come to Voices – European Festival of Journalism and Media Literacy at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb and view HND’s pret-a-porter collection – Try on being a “journalist,” “četnikuša,” mix it with “journalistic rabble” and “lying snouts.” Take a pen with hydrochloric acid or novichok powder, be a fool, a scavenger, or an axis of evil. The fashion show runs daily on the 2nd floor of the Connecting Voices exhibition space until Saturday, March 1. Available in all sizes, the HND said upon opening this interesting exhibition, which unfortunately shows how tragically low the awareness and respect for journalistic freedoms are.
The Voices festival opened before a large audience at the Museum of Contemporary Art, with the presence and speeches of Zagreb’s Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Koržinek.
“Journalism today is challenged by the rapid digital transformation and artificial intelligence,” agreed the organizers, which is why it is important to find an appropriate legislative model to protect the media as a pillar of democratic society,” emphasized Obuljen Koržinek, who announced harmonization of Croatian legislation with the European Media Freedom Act by autumn this year and the government’s work on support for the distribution of print media.
The Minister added that with the boom of digital media and the accompanying onslaught of disinformation, citizens “must be strong and able to distinguish information from disinformation, credible media from what is shared on social networks.”
Tomislav Tomašević highlighted that he is proud that the second edition of the festival is here, adding that it is no coincidence since the capital of Croatia won the gold award in 2024 for the European Capital of Inclusion and Diversity. “Media literacy is the responsibility of the whole society,” said the Mayor of Zagreb.
The EFJ President and festival organizational coordinator Maja Sever emphasized that besides economic risks, journalists are exposed to security risks, so this is also a platform for connecting journalists. “While we have strived to organize this festival, in Ukraine, in the Bucha district, our colleague Tatiana Kulik, a member of the Ukrainian Journalists’ Union, was killed in a Russian attack,” said Sever. More than 100 journalists have been killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she added, and greeted in the audience the General Secretary of the Ukrainian Journalists’ Union Lina Kushch, Ukrainian journalists, and colleagues from Belarus in exile.
“We are not here to seek help, to complain, or to say how we are attacked and insecure, we are here to show courage and resistance, to connect and strengthen our journalistic community. Journalism does not defend itself by silence but by struggle,” Sever stated.
Sever also highlighted the importance of this event amid alarming news from Serbia, where armed police raided organizations such as CRTA, dedicated to fighting disinformation and defending democracy. She also condemned the persecution of female students by regime tabloids and welcomed and stressed the importance of young female and male students and their social engagement.
Zrinka Ujević, Head of the European Commission Representation in Croatia, under whose patronage the Voices festival is held, said that media freedoms are a fundamental value of the European Union. “Europe is the first in the world to regulate this area and to serve as an example to other countries,” Ujević said.
This year’s Voices festival will focus on topics such as European media legislation, challenges in media economic models, the digital environment, disinformation, journalists’ safety, and artificial intelligence in journalism.