The United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna hosted its second Journalist Forum at the Vienna International Centre (VIC) from 23 through 25 October 2001. The forum offered practical discussions with environmental experts and networking opportunities for journalists from Eastern and Central Europe covering the environment en route to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002.

Thirty five participants and speakers represented a total of 17 countries at this forum, which was co-sponsored by UNIS, the City of Vienna, and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). During the meeting participants shared their views on the creative process of environmental reporting with representatives from the ICPDR, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the GEO-magazine, the European Mountain Forum (EMF), the Centre of Environmental Information Studies of the Catalan Institute of Technology, and the City of Vienna.

The overall goal of the journalist forum was to raise awareness about the importance of the environment as a subject for journalists contributing to print and electronic media in Central and Eastern Europe, and to explore the ways to raise standards of environmental coverage in the mass media of the sub-region. The forum attempted to encourage the environmental journalists to maintain a critical and informed stance.

The ICPDR invited the journalists to contribute to Danube Watch by providing critical contributions and information from the national level on pollution control, sustainable use of water resources and protection of ecosystems. Their contributions should take into account transboundary implications of pollution in the Danube Basin and the Black Sea Region.