In Sarajevo on 8 May 2024, cooperation agreements were signed by the director of „Avaz-roto press“ d.o.o. Sarajevo, Mr. Bojan Varunek, the president of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marko Šantić, and the editor-in-chief of Večernji list BiH, Mr. Jozo Pavković.
These agreements established a framework for future cooperation between the institutions, primarily relating to cooperation in the area of media presence and the economy.
The two largest print media outlets in the Federation of BiH, in cooperation with the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH, will prepare joint analyses, preparations and media reporting on projects in the fields of media, economy and business. Also defined as one of the key activities are media coverage and presentation of the economy and the promotion of goods and services at home and abroad, organizing appearances at fairs, organizing presentations and promotions, issuing promotional publications and catalogs, presenting the economy via the Internet, Chamber publications and other promotional activities. The basis of the entire cooperation is better media presentation of the economy and economic development activities in which the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH and its members participate.
The activities planned within strategic communication are aimed at strengthening the position and visibility of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the territory of the Federation of BiH. The goal of these activities is to increase the visibility of the Chamber’s work and engagement in society and the economy, as well as to inform the wider public, especially the business community, about the opportunities and benefits of Chamber membership. The activities are aimed at promoting and increasing the visibility of the sectors and associations within the Chamber, their work and activities, as well as the public powers that the Chamber performs on behalf of the Federation of BiH.
The first major joint project organized by the signatories of today’s cooperation agreements is the organization of the joint conference Media as a Communicator of Economic Policies, which will be held on 29/05/2024 in Sarajevo at Radon Plaza. In addition to the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Večernji list and Avaz, the co-organizer of the conference is the Financial-Information Agency of the FBiH, and the media partner is the Federal News Agency of the Federation of BiH.
By choosing this topic, the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH, Avaz and Večernji list BiH wanted to point out the great importance of the media in reporting on economic topics, and to emphasize the role of the media in communicating economic reforms, strategies and programs. Also, one of the very important topics is the media presence of positive stories from the economic sphere of BiH society, and how and whether companies from BiH use the media in the context of promotional activities, social responsibility, public relations, publicity and the overall creation of the image of the BiH economy.
The conference will cover three central topics within three planned panels:
- Strategic communication of economic policies
- The real sector in the media labyrinth
- Consumer ethnocentrism and the media
Strategic communication of economic policies and the role of the media in reporting and communication will be addressed in the first panel of the conference, with an emphasis on the importance and significance of reporting on economic policies and strategies at the moment BiH is currently in, namely candidate status and the opening of negotiations with the European Union. At this moment, the key challenge for BiH is the implementation of structural reforms in certain sectors of society, including the economy, as well as increasing productivity and achieving economic growth based on sustainability. Economic policies represent structural reforms in the field of the economy and relate to areas of competitiveness, resilience, sustainability, social policies and human resources. Improving business conditions, technological development and digitalization, along with green and energy transition with the aim of increasing the share of renewable energy sources, and increasing employment are the foundations on which a successful economic development strategy can be built. The role of the media in presenting, reporting, communicating and bringing economic policies closer to the public is essential and very important. Eminent experts in the mentioned fields will speak to us about all this in the first panel of the conference.
The second panel, titled The real sector in the media labyrinth, will focus on the presence of the economy and successful BiH economic stories in the media space. Some of the important questions that will be asked are – How much do domestic media affirm positive stories from the BiH economy? Can small entrepreneurs successfully find their way into the media space? Are there developed communication strategies in the real sector? Or does communication come down to ad hoc communication on individual topics? Do the media seriously and consistently deal with reporting and communicating topics from the economy? How do companies use the media for their campaigns, public relations, presentation of socially responsible behavior and the like? Does and how does the BiH economy create its media image?
The panel Consumer ethnocentrism and the media focuses on domestic BiH products and consumers’ orientation toward their consumption and use. Media presentation of domestic products in a positive light, emphasis on quality and tradition, as well as on the positive effects of using domestically produced goods and services on the overall economy through direct impact on GDP are the topic of this panel.
The Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH attaches great importance to domestic production and, accordingly, is currently implementing a project of visual labeling of Bosnian and Herzegovinian products and services with the marks – “BH quality” / “BH Quality”/ and “Izvorno domaće” / “BH Creation” /. The marks “BH quality” and “Izvorno domaće” are intended to encourage the development of domestic production, raise the quality level of BiH products, production technologies and services, encourage creativity, originality, development and research work, innovation and invention, and promote Bosnia and Herzegovina and create a Bosnian and Herzegovinian identity on the world market.
The right to use the mark “BH quality” is granted to products and services that possess above-average quality and are produced in the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. services provided in the territory of the FBiH.
The right to use the mark “Izvorno domaće” is granted to products and services that possess above-average quality, at least as products or services at the level of “BH quality”, and that arose as a result of BiH tradition, development and research work, innovation and invention. This project is being implemented in cooperation with the Government of the Federation of BiH and the Federal Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts.
In 2024, the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH celebrates its great 25th anniversary of existence and work, and has prepared a series of activities to mark this jubilee and recall some of the most significant activities that took place in the past period. Promotion of the economy, increasing its competitiveness, providing a series of trainings and advanced courses in cooperation with partners from the country and abroad, participation in European projects, and performing public powers are some of the tasks and activities that the Chamber has been successfully carrying out continuously for many years. Focusing on increasing the recognition of domestic products, services and companies in the domestic and foreign markets is one of the important roles of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH.
As part of the activities related to the celebration of 25 years of the Chamber’s existence, and given that there is no established annual award for businesspeople in the Federation of BiH, the Chamber plans to organize the ECONOMIC SUCCESS OF THE YEAR award in ten categories.
The awards will be presented as part of the ceremonial academy marking the 25th anniversary of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH, in cooperation with partners.
Given that Dnevni avaz and Večernji list BiH have been promoting the BiH real sector for many years through regular positive stories from the economy, the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of BiH on this occasion invites all its members, as well as other economic entities, to open active cooperation with these two eminent media houses if they have not already done so, and to find their own individual interests, but also an interest in the economy of BiH and the entire BiH society.
