Most Money from City Budget for Child Protection

The people of Belgrade had the opportunity  today to, for the first time, within the “Make your own city budget“ street event, allocate 58 billion dinars of imaginary money  representing the budget of Belgrade in 24 boxes of city secretariats and agencies within the city government.

Street event “Make your own city budget” was held in celebration of the European Week of Local Democracy in front of Usce Shopping Center, and was organized by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network and Pro concept, in cooperation with the city agency for European integration and cooperation with associations.

People who  were involved in action believe that the most money from the city budget should be placed for  the Secretary for Child Protection some 11.91 per cent of the total city budget, followed by the Health Secretary 9.8 per cent, Secretary for Education 9.6 per cent, the Youth Office  7.76 per cent and the Culture Secretary 7.63 per cent.

<!** Image 4 alt=””Make you own budget” at Usce, Belgrade” sub=””Make you own budget” at Usce, Belgrade” >

At the bottom of their priority list were the Department of Informatics and Statistics, 1.74 per cent,  Government  Secretary 1.34per cent, Commercial Space Agency 0.75per cent, Secretary of Finance 0.75per cent, and the Public Procurement Agency 0.53per cent of the total city budget.

The Director of the Agency for European integration and cooperation with associations Danko Runic pointed that today we have the opportunity to show to the people how they can participate in decision making at the local level.
 
“This is an example of how people should influence the decision makers and how they would allocate the funds from the budgetary resources of the city. The main principle of the European Charter of Local Self-Government is the financial independence of local governments and this action shows that there is a need for financial decentralization and active participation of citizens in it.

The City of Belgrade for the first time this year is participating in celebrations of the European Week of Local Democracy, which is an event that marked the Member States of the Council of Europe in 47 countries “- said Runić.

According to him, the Council of Europe this year awarded Belgrade the “City with 12 stars” title, based on a program that is nominated to mark the European Week of Local Democracy.  

“People  now have the opportunity to send a clear message to the authorities what are their priorities in spending the budget. This action is only part of the project, which includes participatory budgeting of local municipalities and prominence of trasnparentnosti budget process. “- said Danko Cosic, director of Pro Concept.

Cosic said that the results of todays action will be presented to competent institutions dealing with the formation of the budget.

Life in Kosovo debates the latest political developments in the country

Tonight, Life in Kosovo broadcasts a debate with representatives from Kosovo’s political parties who will talk about the latest political developments in Kosovo.

When will the General Elections be held? What is the attitude of PDK, LDK and other parties regarding the elections?  How is the institutional crisis in Kosovo being managed and how are the preparations for the new elections going? Is the Central Elections Commission ready to organise General Elections this year? When will we have political clarity in the country?
 

To discuss this, Jeta Xharra will be joined in the studio by:
 

Lutfi Haziri, LDK
Bajram Rexhepi, PDK
Ilir Deda, FER
Glauk Konjufca, Vetevendosje
 

Analysis by journalist Muhamet Hajrullahu will be broadcast during the debate about how the PDK-LDK coalition functioned over the past three years and what journalists think about the coalition.
 

Journalist Edona Musa looks at the scandal of why 33,000 euro of medicine has been left outside the Central University Clinical Hospital,  Kosovo’s main hospital.

BIRN Training in Albania

As a part of the project ‘Advancing Independent Investigative Journalism in Albania’ BIRN has organised a specialised training workshop on news gathering and international standards for a group of young journalists.

The two day workshop, started on Wednesday and , is led by Balkan Insight Editor in Chief, Gordana Igric, and Besar Likmeta, BIRN’s Albania Editor and is based on a curriculum developed by BIRN and available from our website.

Click here to view the training agenda

During the training session, the team will commission investigative reports from topics suggested by the journalists  and create investigative teams  to work on the report.

The project’s objectives are to improve the journalists’ skills in analytical reporting and provide them with the ability to produce high quality analytical and investigative reports on crucial issues.

BIRN’s aim is to do this a way that is practical and sustainable over time, making sure that these journalists have access to continued education, useful resources and the experience, advice and support of colleagues doing similar work in similar situations elsewhere. They will also have regular opportunities to work at this level and publish their reports.

The project hopes to foster enhanced co-operation with media outlets in the country, raise awareness through free republishing in general print, electronic and internet outlets, and to expand the reach and impact of local journalists’ reporting to both the wider region and internationally.

On the job training and publishing, Tirana, 13-14 October, 2010

Venue: Media Institute


AGENDA

Wednesday, October 13th

09:30 – 10:00    Introduction, Gordana Igrić, BIRN regional director
10:15 – 11:15    Skills Building, Gordana Igrić
–    Five types of articles
–    Writing Style
–    Writing Tips
–    Quotes
–    Sources
11:15 – 11:30    Coffee break
11:30 – 12:30    News Analysis, Gordana Igrić/Besar Likmeta
–    Defining News Analysis
–    Difference Between News and News Analysis
–    Composition of the News Analysis
12:30 – 13:30    Lunch break
13:30 – 15:30    Commissioning articles, discussing story proposals

Thursday, October 14th

9:30 – 10:30   Investigative reporting, Gordana Igric
10:30: 11:00   Coffee break
11:00- 12:30   Commissioning investigative report, discussing story proposals, Gordana Igric / Besar Likmeta
12:30 – 13:30   Lunch break
13:30 – 15:30   Presenting investigation online, Milos Milosavljevic, Gordana Igric

 

Investigative Journalism Handbook ‘Digging Deeper’ in Serbian Soon

“Digging Deeper”, a guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, was published in English in 2009.

The book, serves as both an easy reference for journalists interested in investigative reporting and will also serve as the basis of  BIRN’s MA studies programmes which are currently being established with universities around the region. 

The book has just been translated into Serbian and with the aid of funding from the OSCE will shortly be printed and distributed to the journalistic and academic communities. 

Re-print in English is also planned for the near future. The book was written by Sheila S. Coronel from the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism with contributions from some of the most notable Investigative Journalists and educators worldwide, alongside BIRN’s own team of investigative writers.

MA in Investigative Reporting

BIRN is in negotiation with the Faculty of Media and Communications in Belgrade (Serbia) about creating an MA programme in investigative reporting.

There is great interest in a programme of this type in the region, and investigative reporting has an essential role in monitoring the region’s developing democracies. BIRN’s efforts have the support of Sheila S. Coronel, the executive director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University in the USA. We hope to be able to announce a positive outcome by the end of October. We continue to research other opportunities for similar programmes with universities across the Western Balkans.

Life in Kosovo interviews Jakup Krasniqi and discusses internal party elections

Tonight, Life in Kosovo will broadcast an interview with the acting president of Kosovo, Jakup Krasniqi, regarding the latest political developments.

Representatives of political parties will also debate internal party elections.

 

Will political parties have held mandatory internal elections before they enter the new elections in Kosovo?

Is there democracy within PDK, LDK, AAK, AKR?

Who are the candidates standing for the leader of LDK?

 

Who could be Hashim Thaci’s rival in PDK?

Is there an internal crisis in LDK, PDK, AAK, and AKR?

In order to discuss these issues, the following guests will join Muhamet Hajrullahu in the studio:

Ramë Buja from PDK,
Ismet Beqiri from LDK,
Ibrahim Makolli from AKR and
Burim Ramadani from AAK.

 

During the show, journalist Edona Musa will present a report on what political analysts in Kosovo think about internal party elections and internal party democracy.  

 

Alban Selimi also looks at the importance of breastfeeding for the health of mother and child.

 

Life in Kosovo is broadcast every Thursday at 8.20pm and retransmitted the following day.

EXCLUSIVE: Life in Kosovo interviews American ambassador Dell and former president Sejdiu

This Thursday at 9pm, Life in Kosovo transmits an exclusive interview with the American Ambassador to Kosovo Christopher Dell and recently resigned President of the Republic of Kosovo, Dr Fatmir Sejdiu.

Has the president been stabbed in the back by the decision of the constitutional court or is this part of the normal democratic process?

How will this impact the PDK-LDK coalition?

Will early elections be held?

Will we have hurried elections during this year, or will we wait until spring?

What are Shpend Ahmeti and Albin Kurti offering as new political options for the Kosovar voter?

Life in Kosovo, Thursday at 9pm, will be rebroadcast the following day at midday. You can watch Life in Kosovo shows online at http://www.jetanekosove.com

BIRN Serbia and RTS TV co-production on Presevo

BIRN Serbia and Radio Televesion Serbia`s TV magazine programme “Oko”  started a production of documentary on life Presevo this week, as part of a project supported by British embassy in Belgrade.

This small town in south Serbia with an ethnic Albanian majority, is close to the border with Kosovo and Macedonia. Although the  pan European Corridor 10 passes close by Presevo, the town has remained largely out of the public eye and struggles with tough social and economic problems.

BIRN initiated the production of documentary in order to bring the experiences of local Albanians and Serbs, to a wider Serbian audience.

During three days of filming the team interviewed local political leaders and the  people of Presevo in search of a story about the every-day life in this part of Serbia, burdened as it is with a heritage of war and inter ethnic conflict which it is still coming to terms with.

The feature will be broadcast by the end of September.

Life in Kosovo investigates the types of food that are consumed in Kosovo

This Thursday, Life in Kosovo will discuss the type of foods that are consumed in Kosovo and will also broadcast two investigative reports that show mismanagement in Kosovo’s institutions.

The documentary “The new food in the new place” prepared by the journalist Jeta Xharra analyses the effect on the human metabolism of salamis, chips and other manufactured foods.

How healthy are food products in Kosovo? What are the real ingredients in salamis, chips and other manufactured products? The documentary also presents an analysis of food products from the USA and what the doctors say about becoming overweight?

BIRN will also broadcast an investigative report by the journalist Muhamet Hajrullahu, explaining tender irregularities in the Ministry of Public Administration on the managing of vehicle expenses by satellite.

Why was the tender cancelled then reinstated? What are the arguments between all parties  involved in this tender?

During the show, BIRN will also broadcast another investigative report by journalist Edona Musa, who looks at the laboratory of Family Medical Centre in Vushtrri.

How are the analyses done in this laboratory and who does them? Based on which criteria are patients referred for laboratory analysis?