Eleonora Veninova was born in Skopje, Macedonia. She is a journalist for Sitel TV, a national channel. Additionally, she works for Cre8ive 8 Production, producing documentaries and short promotional clips for the British Council. She won the “Make a difference” award from UNICEF for one minute clip, presented in New York in 2005. She wanted to show how the strict visa regimes facing Balkan countries like Macedonia serve only to discourage those who would travel and transport goods legitimately, while criminal elements find their way regardless. Her research was supervised by Ana Petruseva, an editor of BIRN’s Balkan Insight publication.