FAMA International is an independent media company based in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. FAMA was founded in 1990 by Suada Kapic as the first independent media company in the area. At the time,

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

was emerging from

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and entering into a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The authority was intended to be the

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

of south-eastern Europe and to disseminate information about regional developments to a wider audience. Its primary concern was the

Breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

and the

Siege of Sarajevo The siege of Sarajevo () was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by Serbian forces of the Yugoslav People's Arm ...

, paying particular attention to the

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

Projects

The FAMA Projects (created by FAMA Authors/Team in Sarajevo) are the world's largest independent collection of multi-media projects pertaining to the Siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996) and related events in reference to the Fall of Yugoslavia (1991-1999). Miroslav Prstojevic wrote a survival guide for Sarajevo between the Aprils of 1992 and 1993. The guide was inspired by the

Guide Bleu The Guide Bleu is a series of French-language travel guides published by Hachette Livre Hachette Livre S.A. (; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing, publishing group that was based in Paris. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachett ...

format of

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guidebooks. It also included survival photos, taken by Zeljko Pulić, that portrayed daily life during the siege. The visuals were curated by Ingo Gunther, while Aleksandra Wagner and Ellen Elias Bursac contributed the English translation of the guide. In 1994, Sansusha publishers and

P3 art and environment P3 art and environment is an art organization, curatorial office and gallery in Shinjuku in Tokyo, Japan, which opened in 1989. P3 art and environment was founded by urbanist and regional planner Takashi Serizawa. He was commissioned to build a ...

published the Japanese edition. The guide advised on issues related to survival during the siege and suggested "best practices" for weathering perilous conditions, such as a lack of essentials like food, electricity, and transportation. The guide's tongue-in-cheek humor aimed to sustain and strengthen readers, who were horrified or struggling with the violent realities of the conflict.

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

excerpted the guide in its November 1993 review.

''Survival Art Museum '94''

The Survival Art Museum paid homage to the victims' ingenuity while under siege. The museum displayed a diverse collection of artifacts, including jewelry, sculptures, posters, fashions, stoves, and comic books which are all examples of what FAMA calls "Survival Art." These exhibits were shown in Tokyo in a 1996 exhibition that highlighted pieces like the highly reproduced ''Survival Map '92-'96''. In 2015, there were reports that FAMA planned to build a larger museum in

''FAMA Collection''

The FAMA Collection is an online collection of media and artifacts.

Awards

FAMA received the 2017

Sixth April Award of Sarajevo The Sixth of April Sarajevo Award (; ; sr-Cyrl, Шестоаприлска награда града Сарајева) is the highest decoration given by the city of Sarajevo. Recipients are awarded for their continuous work and achievements in ...

. The award is given to "outstanding individuals, groups and collectives for significant achievements, and exceptional works" deemed to "contribute to the overall improvement and development of the city of Sarajevo."

References

External links

Japanese online edition of Survival Guide

FAMA Methodology

Fama Collection

The FAMA Collection
{{Authority control Companies of Bosnia and Herzegovina European artist groups and collectives 1990 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Culture in Sarajevo