Supporting journalists writing in Romanian and living outside Romania's borders is the main goal of the Romanian Journalists International Forum (RJIF), launched in Chisinau on Friday, May 16, by the founders of the project, the TVR Cluj manager, Romeo Couţi and the journalist Marian Voicu, Info-Prim Neo. Romeo Couţi says launching the forum in Chisinau will be followed by promotions of the project in all the Romanian communities outside Romania, including Serbia and Hungary. The forum is expected to speed up its activity by fall and already can be accessed at www.jurnalistiromani.ro. Marian Voicu says the idea is to get together Romanian-language journalists from a number of areas to debate and find solutions for journalistic issues. RJIF wants to organize training courses, experience exchange, to grant scholarships to journalists outside Romania's borders. “I believe the Romanian press outside Romania will need such a forum, especially to popularize the press writing in Romanian,” Romeo Couţi said. A number of Moldovan journalists attended the event and expressed skepticism as to the RJIF. Constantin Tanase, the director of the Timpul newspaper has said no association of this kind has survived. “They have brought no fruits, only have left some ruins and a bitter taste,” Tanase said. Alexandru Dorogan, the president of the Electronic Press Association (APEL), has stressed the Moldovan journalists cannot form a sustainable association at their home, that it why they cannot build long-lasting relationships with other renowned associations. Valeriu Saharneanu, the president of the Journalists Union has wondered about funding the Forum. In his opinion, if the pragmatic aspects is not taken into account, the project is likely not to reach its goals. All the Chisinau journalists have been unanimous that the most important thing now for the Moldovan press is to enhance the journalists' professionalism. According to them, the media products are further professionally weak.