Category: Programmes

Paper Trail to Better Governance IV

BIRN Kosovo

The aim of the fourth phase of the Paper Trail to Better Governance project is to expose wrongdoings by public institutions, public or private companies and individuals through multimedia investigations, innovative journalism techniques and the establishment of an online database, as well as to train journalists across the Western Balkans, advance the position of female media workers and work closely with relevant stakeholders to advocate the freedom of information in the region.

Summary

In the past nine years, BIRN Kosovo and BIRN HUB have successfully managed three phases of the Paper Trail to Better Governance project, training 130 journalists in the Western Balkans, uncovering around 20 lucrative deals and corrupt schemes on a transnational level, and closely examining the work of regional public institutions.

On the grounds of the previous outstanding cooperation as well as external evaluation of the project, BIRN Kosovo (lead partner) and BIRN Hub (local partner) are proposing a transboundary scheme that responds to the European Commission’s membership conditions, aiming to strengthen the rule of law, governance and judiciary in the Western Balkan region.

The proposed project will also directly contribute to SDG targets 16.3, 16.5, 16.6, 16.7 and 16.10 as well as to the South-East Strategy 2030, through advocating a better functioning public sector that abides by the principles of transparency and accountability to its citizens.

Overall, the project will reach about 215 men and women investigative journalists, 40 emerging journalists, 200 researchers, 12 media outlets, as well as around 3 million people in the region who will be exposed to at least 40 cross-border and country-based long-reads, gender and freedom of information reports and interactive maps and a database.

Donor

Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of the Austrian Development Cooperation

Main Objectives

The Project is expected to contribute to advancing democratic governance in the Western Balkan countries through increased transparency, improved conditions for accountability and gender equality.

The overall impact that the project is expected to contribute to is related to substantially reducing corruption and bribery in all forms.

Specific Objectives

During the project duration, BIRN aims to:

  • increase the skills of investigative and young journalists in the Western Balkans;
  • strengthen capacities of local media to use innovative data tools and enter into cross-border collaboration;
  • advance production of long-reads and accompanying multimedia content to uncover malpractices of public institutions and public or private companies and people in power;
  • advocate for freedom of information in the Western Balkans by working closely with relevant stakeholders;
  • upgrade BIRN Investigative Resource Desk (BIRD) and other regional media outlets’ ability to respond to technical and digital challenges that the media community is facing;
  • increase the skills of women journalists and gender sensitive reporting in the Western Balkans.

Main activities

1) Hold trainings for regional journalists, including BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting, Regional Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) and Fellowship for Emerging Journalists;

2) Hold training and conduct mentorship for local media outlets to produce stories using the innovative Engaged Citizens Reporting tool, ECR;

3) Produce at least 40 country-based and cross-border long-reads (investigations, analyses and features), multimedia content and an interactive map/database;

4) Produce three annual freedom of information reports and capacity-building activities in the sphere of freedom of information, aimed at journalists and public servants in the Western Balkans;

5) Organise workshops about digital security, develop internal policies and procedures on digital safety for regional media outlets and further upgrade the BIRN Investigative Resource Desk, BIRD;

6) Establish a network of women journalists and address the most pressing gender issues through capacity building and policy recommendations.

Target Groups

Journalists, including investigative journalists; emerging journalists; local media outlets; public institutions; universities.

Main Implementer

BIRN Kosovo

Partners

BIRN HUB

Surveillance and Censorship in the Western Balkans (WB6)

BIRN Hub

Donor:

Open Society Fund Bosnia and Herzegovina

Summary:

The Western Balkans region faces a surge in surveillance and censorship practices that have profound implications for freedom of speech, human rights and democracy. The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the network of organisations it founded – SEE Digital Rights Network, which comprises more than 30 regional organisations – have recognised the urgent need to address these issues.

This project aims to tackle surveillance and censorship by fortifying the resilience of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations (CSOs) against digital surveillance and censorship across the Western Balkans Six (WB6) countries. This involves a multi-pronged approach that includes exposing the abuse of digital technologies by both state and non-state actors, raising public consciousness of government surveillance and censorship, empowering key stakeholders, and promoting policy reform.

The main activities include mapping stakeholders involved in surveillance and censorship, promoting institutional transparency, and engaging citizens and activists in addressing these issues.

Anticipated outcomes encompass heightened awareness among the target audience, bolstered capabilities of journalists and CSOs, promotion of policy change recommendations, and secure whistleblowing via the reporting tool and the specialised webpage.

Main Goal of the Project:

To combat surveillance and censorship in the Western Balkans region by exposing the misuse of technology by state and non-state actors, raising awareness about government surveillance and censorship, and strengthening the resilience of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations (CSOs) to counteract the misuse of digital technologies.

Objectives:

Objective 1: Combat surveillance and censorship by exposing state and non-state actors’ misuse of technology.

Objective 2: Increase awareness about surveillance and censorship practices by state and non-state actors in the WB6 countries, and their short-term and long-term consequences on different stakeholders, including vulnerable and marginalized groups, and the general public.

Objective 3: Empower journalists, human rights defenders, CSOs, and citizens to counteract digital technology misuse.

Target Groups:

Journalists, human rights defenders, CSOs, and the general public

Partners:

SEE Digital Rights Network Members

This project is made possible through grant support from the Open Society Foundation Western Balkan.

Under the Spotlight: Infrastructure Projects in Serbia

BIRN Serbia

Donor:

National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

Main Objectives:

  • Overall objective of the project: to promote accountability of the government through quality media reporting based on the facts. Our reporting will put under spotlight the capacities of the Government and its relevant bodies to run infrastructure projects and their accountability to citizens.

Specific Objectives:

  • Establishing facts related to the planning, management and impact of infrastructural projects delivered in Serbia
  • Informing the public about infrastructure projects and their impact on society

Main activities:

  • Journalistic research and production – BIRN will produce at least 5 thematic packages annually (analytical and investigative content) to be published on the birn.rs platform. The content will be done in-house by BIRN’s journalists and editors. As proposed topics require extensive field work, we will also rely on local journalists to participate in the project if/when appropriate. In-depth stories will be specifically edited, following standards applied on the length, paragraphing and presentation of facts. We will make available additional multimedia materials, visualize data and documents, provide photos etc.
  • Extensive database creation and open documents to the public are BIRN’s mitigation method on the overall negative trend of closing institutions and denying access to data, supporting BIRN efforts to keep public institutions accountable and transparent. BIRN will provide a) interactive data and documents base creation: and b) production of multimedia material, such as illustrations, visualisations, videos and photo galleries.
  • Online promotion and raising awareness will enable the project findings’ promotion using multiple online communication platforms and formats.
  1. Target Groups:

State institutions: the Cadastre, relevant ministries, Treasury administration, Tax Administration

Main Implementer:

BIRN Serbia

 

 

 

 

Digital Media Action – Monitoring Deployment of Intrusive Technologies

BIRN Serbia

Donor:

DTI Fund – Independent Media

Main Objectives:

  • Independent media to influence public agenda through availability of quality information on underreported topics.

Specific Objectives:

  • to provide independent oversight of intrusive digital technologies with a focus on human rights and media freedoms in Serbia.

Main activities:

  • Monitoring will be based on the systematic mapping of the usage of potentially intrusive digital technologies in state institutions and will trace state funding through the public procurement of hardware and software for surveillance and AI, companies involved, services enabled, etc.
  • Media production will focus on the broader societal implications of the usage of intrusive digital technologies, including the implications for journalists and media.
  • Capacity building for journalists will provide understanding of the context on AI, digital/biometric surveillance, teach them the journalistic techniques needed to track developments in this field and its deployment in public sphere.
  • Production and mentoring scheme will serve as an extension of the workshop; it will be provided for at least 5 participants whose story pitches will be commissioned by BIRN.
  • Multimedia campaign will promote media production and the monitoring results and will raise the general public awareness about digital surveillance and algorithmic decision making, how they are governed, and what the potential consequences of their use are.
  • Round table will be organised, gathering various interested stakeholders and steering a public debate about the findings and key project results.

Target Groups:

Media, Journalists, CSOs, Journalists’ associations, Independent institutions: Commissioner for the Data Protection and Free Access to Information, Equality Commissioner, Ombudsman, State institutions and public enterprises.

Main Implementer:

BIRN Serbia

 

 

 

 

Strengthening Quality News and Independent Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II

BIRN Hub

The project aims to provide systemic support to improve the quality and professionalism of journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. It is based on a successful model established by BIRN and its partners over the past four years, which enables journalists to produce relevant, high-quality content independently, broadening citizens’ perspectives on issues of public importance and increasing trust in the media. The project includes capacity building for mid-career and young journalists, ensuring quality in journalism study programs, supporting the production of quality news, TV and cross-border investigation stories, providing investigative resource desk support, and promoting these stories through awards. Additionally, the project aims to ensure that the quality of journalism study programs is maintained for future generations.

Summary:

The main challenges facing the media in the Western Balkans include poor professional skills of journalists, limited training opportunities, lack of resources, reluctance to publish investigative stories and limited penetration of these stories. The fight against corruption and organised crime, rule of law, the environment and media freedoms are repeatedly highlighted in European Commission progress reports for most Western Balkan countries. According to other international reports, governments in these countries have resorted to excessive surveillance and have curtailed freedom of expression. Investigative journalists face threats and attacks. The COVID-19 pandemic further curbed media freedoms in the region, leading to a decline in media pluralism and freedom of expression. According to the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published in May 2022, all Western Balkan countries are in the category of countries with “problematic” press freedom. The scores the countries achieved are lower than the previous year, yet paradoxically their rankings are higher.

These challenges highlight the need for comprehensive and systemic support for the media in the Western Balkans and Türkiye, to raise their capacities, safeguard media freedom and promote freedom of expression. The project will work with journalists and future journalists to increase their skills in the European Year of Skills, supporting them to practise their skills in the production of quality news, TV and cross-border stories, including support received from an investigative resource desk. High-quality and professional journalism will be awarded through the EU awards scheme. At the same time, the project will work with mainstream and public service media, aiming to enhance the production and publishing of quality news and investigative stories. With the aim of supporting the sustainability of the journalism as profession, but also to promote professionalism and quality production, the project will also work with universities.

This project is built on experiences and best practices gathered from its first phase, implemented in the past four years, during the world pandemic caused by COVID-19 and marked as the most challenging period in the world.

Donor:

European Union.

Main Objectives:

The overall objective of the project is to provide systemic support to improve the quality and professionalism of journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

The specific objective of the action is to strengthen trust-based engagement of citizens and media, provide resources and establish the conditions for media and journalists to produce high-quality content through education, training, mentoring and editorial support, technical and financial support, publishing and promoting outstanding achievements in quality and investigative journalism.

The main outcome of the project is boosted skills of young and mid-career journalists in quality news and investigative reporting, through increased opportunities for journalism training, funds for content production and awards for merits in investigative reporting.

Main Activities:

  1. Administrate and Coordinate the Action

 

  1. Organise National and Regional Training Scheme:

2.1. National Workshops (e-courses, offline and online training and workshops);

2.2. Training Camps for young journalists;

 

  1. Organize Regional Training Scheme:

3.1. Regional training on investigative journalism/ fact-checking;

3.2. Mentorship for journalists to produce at least 20 fact-checking stories;

3.3. Two Summer School of Investigative Reporting;

3.4. Three regional training camps on different topics, including legally safe reporting and    crisis reporting.

 

  1. Conduct Regional Exchange Programme:

4.1. Development of one exchange curriculum;

4.2. Two regional exchange programmes;

4.3. Development and publishing of 24 in-depth stories;

 

  1. Organize Digital Security Scheme:

5.1.  Up to 500 journalists participate in the Digital Security Scheme;

5.2. Technical assistance to 100 journalists;

 

  1. Produce and publish quality news and investigative stories:

6.1. Development and publishing of 600 articles;

6.2. Development and publication of 12 TV stories;

6.3. Production and publishing of cross-border documentary;

 

  1. Production of cross-border investigations:

7.1. On-the-job mentoring and editorial support;

7.2. 15 cross-regional multimedia content published in English and local languages;

 

  1. Development of pilot programme for investigative journalism academic training:

8.1. Systemic consultations with universities and journalism schools in the region established;

8.2. Development of curriculum for the pilot training programme for investigative     journalism;

8.3. Piloting of the Investigative journalism academic training programme;

8.4. Development of a roadmap for formal accreditation at MA level;

 

  1. EU Award Scheme

9.1 63 national + 9 regional EU Prizes Awarded.

Target Groups

Journalists (young and mid-career) from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Türkiye and Serbia; mainstream media outlets; public service media and universities.

Main Implementer:

Balkan Investigative Reporting Regional Network – BIRN Hub

Partners:

Central European University (CEU), Budapest, Hungary

Association of Journalists (AJ), Ankara, Turkey

Thomson Media (TM), Berlin, Germany

University Goce Delcev Stip (UGD), North Macedonia

The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM), Skopje, North Macedonia

Media Association of South-East Europe (MASE), Podgorica, Montenegro

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Kosovo, Prishtina, Kosovo

 

 

 

Reporting Digital Rights and Freedoms

BIRN Kosovo

The aim of this project is to enhance the knowledge and skills of media and civil society to monitor digital rights violations and disinformation, assert the right to information and respond to abuses in the digital sphere. The project will work on improving the capacities of journalists and organizations by providing them with mentorship, editorial guidance, legal and grant support to increase policy and advocacy efforts, and equip target groups with the skills to track and respond to digital rights violations.

Summary:

Human rights violations in fragile, illiberal democracies differ in type, nature, scope and target, while with the fast-changing world of technology, the limitations of human rights became omnipresent in the digital environment. Journalists, officials and the public face vicious attacks – including verbal abuse, trolling, smear campaigns and undue pressure to retract content – in response to publishing information online. Ongoing tensions and cultural controversies from the “physical sphere” are simply migrating to an “online reality”, while prevention or protection mechanisms are far from successful, and the accountability of online actors, including states and big tech companies, is limited.

The only systematic mapping and reporting of (mis)use of technology for human rights violations in the Western Balkans was carried out by BIRN, which started it during the COVID-19 pandemic. From August 2021 to August 2022, BIRN recorded over 700 cases of digital rights violations in eight Southeast European countries. Similarly, political and religious tensions, which continue to mark our societies’ cultural and political life, also surged, causing further polarization. Unsurprisingly, the two most common violations in the past year were “pressure because of expression and activities on the internet” and “manipulation and propaganda in the digital environment”. Journalists were most frequently the targets of online threats in many countries, with numerous smear campaigns against independent journalists.

For the reasons above, through a comprehensive approach, involving sub-granting, capacity-building, publication and promotion of media content and monitoring reports, relevant institutions on local, regional and EU levels will be strengthened to better address policy recommendations and act on them. Finally, action will work on improving the capacities of journalists and organizations by providing mentorship, editorial guidance, legal and grant support to increase policy and advocacy efforts, and equip target groups with the skills to track and respond to digital rights violations.

Donor:

European Union

Main Objectives:

Overall Objective: Contribute to enhancing the knowledge and skills of media and civil society to methodically decipher the intersections between digital rights violations and disinformation, assert the right to information and respond to abuses in the digital sphere.

Specific Objectives:

  • Determine the patterns in digital freedoms violations in the targeted region that will serve as a basis for developing protection and prevention mechanisms, policy recommendations and legal framework improvements;
  • Better informed societies on current digital freedom violations and raised awareness of critical threats in digital ecosystems;
  • Enhanced digital safety, and increased media and civil society capacities to respond to digital threats through training, workshops and grants;
  • Increased engagement in internet governance by men, women and young people through specialised software, an engaged citizens reporting tool, meet-ups and conferences.

Main activities:

  • Conduct monitoring of digital rights breaches, recording about 1,500 cases and constant updating of the databases
  • Develop a digital media policy hub
  • Produce three research papers and three annual reports, mapping the main actors in digital disruption
  • Present the cross-regional report and overall project impact through one regional conference and three online events for the research papers
  • Develop five recommendation sets, one per monitored country, and distributing them to the respective decision-makers
  • Hold (at least 15) meetings at national, regional, EU and international level to advance digital rights policies based on monitoring findings
  • Develop and Deploy a Digital Service Tracker
  • Produce at least 500 stories in English and local language for online, print and TV
  • Ensure at least 500 are published by other media nationally, regionally and internationally
  • Design and run an awareness raising and promotional campaign, reaching 20 million people
  • Deliver six (6) national training sessions for reporting on digital rights violations for about 60 journalists from media in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo
  • Organize three (3) regional Internet Freedom camps, which will bring together about 30 journalists, researchers, media/freedom of speech lawyers, fact checkers, academia, youth, activists and tech enthusiasts
  • Provide technical assistance to 100 journalists and CSOs as hands-on support on some of the key challenges identified so far
  • On-the-job mentoring and financial support to 30 local journalists and 10 local media outlets in the form of fellowship for stories
  • Award 15 sub-grants to media and CSOs
  • Raise the awareness of about 3,000 citizens on how to use specialized software to report on digital environment challenges
  • Organize 12 meet-ups with local communities in the respective countries

Target Groups:

Journalists, media outlets, policy makers, general digital policy forums and citizens.

Main Implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

Partners:

BIRN HUB, BIRN offices in Albania, BiH, Serbia, and North Macedonia

 

 

Media as a means to improve the transparency of the justice system and the fight against terrorism and violent extremism

BIRN Kosovo

The project aim is to contribute to making justice institutions in Kosovo more transparent and accountable, thereby increasing public demand for the enhancement of their performance.

In the frame of this project, which is a continuation of the Italian MFA-funded project “Media Strengthening the Rule of Law in Kosovo”, BIRN Kosova will implement activities such as monitoring and analysing court hearings on corruption and terrorism cases, and writing and publishing articles to increase public awareness and institutional facilitation of education and training programs for convicted fighters returned from war zones.

Summary:

The judicial system in Kosovo has made tremendous improvements to its work and management. However, challenges remain, especially when it concerns the transparency and accountability of judicial institutions. These lack an open approach towards citizens; protracted court proceedings, unskilled judges and ongoing struggles with backlogs of cases make for an inefficient system that does not deliver to citizens.

BIRN has identified a number of shortcomings in the justice system’s handling of corruption cases, including frequent postponements of court hearings, overdue processes, sentences that do not align with penal policy, changes of witness statements and the evaluation of evidence in a selective manner.

Some of the challenges identified during the monitoring of cases of terrorism and violent extremism include lack of a clear punitive policy when it comes to the resolution of these cases, lack of a vision as to whether or not punishments help in the resocialization process of returnees, and a lack of supplementary and conditional punishments which would condition convicts to follow educational and training programs while they remain incarcerated, etc.

The project aims to ensure the transparency of the judicial system, promoting the rule of law and representing the public interest by monitoring court hearings on corruption and terrorism, as well as providing institutions with follow-up recommendations, promoting accountability and raising awareness by accurately informing the public on the respective court cases with regard to corruption and terrorism.

It also aims to inform the public of the importance of education and training programs for the resocialization of convicted fighters returned from war zones, while also contributing to increased demand from respective institutions to implement such programs.

Donor:

Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian Embassy in Pristina

Main Objectives:

Objective 1: Increase public demand for delivering rule of law commitments by Kosovo’s judicial institutions, including the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cases of corruption, terrorism and violent extremism.

Objective 2: : Increase the responsiveness of judicial institutions implementing their rule of law commitments owed to the citizenry of Kosovo.

Objective 3: Increase public awareness and institutional facilitation of education and training programs for convicted fighters returned from war zones.

Main Activities:

  1. Monitoring at least 20 court hearings related to cases of corruption
  2. Monitoring at least 10 court hearings related to cases of terrorism and extremism
  3. Participating in meetings with the drafting committee to follow up recommendations
  4. Publishing 30 short news items based on the monitoring of 50 court hearings on corruption terrorism and extremism
  5. Publishing an analytical report based on the findings of the monitoring of cases of corruption, terrorism and extremism
  6. Broadcasting one (1) TV program based on the findings of monitoring related to cases of corruption, terrorism and extremism
  7. Monitoring five (5) cases in which the parole panel has released people convicted of terrorism-related charges prematurely
  8. Monitoring five (5) cases related to terrorism and extremism to ascertain the success rate of the resocialization process
  9. Publishing an analytical report based on the findings on the monitoring of the above-mentioned cases

Target Groups:

  • Public officials of Justice institutions of Kosovo
  • Returnees from war zones
  • Citizens of Kosovo

Main implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

 

 

Supporting CSOs and/or media to advance investigative journalism and increase high-quality media content on procurement and public finance irregularities

BIRN Kosovo

This project aims to increase transparency and accountability from local governance institutions by producing and publishing stories on public spending abuses, institutional wrongdoings and corrupt affairs. It aims to help build the capacity of journalists and journalism students to monitor and report about corruption, public procurement and public expenditure.

Summary:

In 2021, through public procurement, 160 different institutions in Kosovo signed 9,892 contracts worth over €429.6 million. The main source of funding for public tenders was the state budget, which accounted for about 80 per cent of them. The value of the signed contracts was about 17 per cent of Kosovo’s total budget. The European Commission’s 2022 report on Kosovo said the country remains in the early stages of preparation for the fight against corruption. Yet there is little media coverage of irregularities in public procurement procedures, even though it is one of the fields most vulnerable to corruption.

Local media in Kosovo mostly stay in their comfort zones, using traditional reporting methods and resisting adaptation to new technological trends. Most local journalists continue to engage almost exclusively in protocol journalism and reporting from events rather than conducting publicly beneficial or investigative journalism.

A lack of subject specialisation also hinders journalists. A report published by the National Democratic Institute in July 2022 said limited resources at news outlets mean journalists are obliged to cover a wide range of topics and areas, often without knowledge or expertise. A journalist might cover the economy and national security one week and justice affairs the following week. International reports and journalists in Kosovo have identified the overextension of journalists as a significant challenge to their professionalism.

The project “Contribute to Strengthening Independent, Investigative and Publicly Beneficial Journalism and Freedom of Expression in Kosovo”, which BIRN implemented in 2018-20, mentored and financed 20 individual journalists through fellowships. A sub-granting scheme also provided support to 48 grantees, including 26 individual journalists (of whom 12 were women) and 22 media organisations (16 of which were based in non-majority communities).

The project’s beneficiaries produced around 440 pieces of journalism that were republished in media across Kosovo and the region, often resulting in behavioural change from authorities. In an era where Russian-produced propaganda is affecting the entire Western Balkans — a phenomenon that has intensified since the invasion of Ukraine — BIRN Kosovo will build on this previous experience to further improve the resilience of Albanian and Serbian media in Kosovo to resist fake news and fight for a journalism that does not only report on the world but fights for a better one.

The people involved in this project will be learning from the best. In 2021 alone, BIRN’s investigative journalists and camera operators won eight awards for their stories on corruption, public procurement and the environment. In its 2021 Investment Climate Statement on Kosovo, the US State Department listed BIRN as a resource for reporting corruption for the second time in a row.

BIRN Kosovo has an experienced team of editors, journalists, legal advisors, procurement and financial experts, camera operators, audio and video editors, designers and producers, who work tirelessly to produce impactful written journalism and televised programmes.

Donor:

USAID

Main Objectives:

Objective 1: Contribute to an increase in transparency and accountability from local governance institutions by producing and publishing stories on public spending abuses, institutional wrongdoings and corrupt affairs.

Objective 2: Build the capacity of journalists and journalism students in monitoring and reporting about corruption, public procurement and public expenditure.

Main Activities:

Activity 1. Draft and compile an investigative journalism handbook.

Activity 2. Organise one (1) Public Procurement School with journalists and journalism students, and publish 20 stories.

 Activity 3. Publish four (4) investigative analyses on best practice in public finances and public procurement.

 Activity 4. Organise three (3) Chatham House-style community meetings

Target Groups:

Journalism students

Journalists

Municipalities

NGOs

Institutional officials

Procurement institutions

Citizens of Kosovo

Implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

 

 

Supporting CSOs to monitor procurement activities in the USAID KMI Phase 1 municipalities and Ministry of Health

BIRN Kosovo

This project aims to contribute to an increase in transparency and accountability in local government institutions by monitoring procurement activities at local and central levels and publishing a report on public spending abuses, institutional wrongdoings and corrupt affairs.

Summary:

According to the European Commission’s 2022 report, Kosovo is still in the early stages of preparation in the fight against corruption. Civil society engagement and media coverage of irregularities in public procurement procedures is limited, particularly at local level. Local media in Kosovo mostly remain within their comfort zone, utilizing traditional methods of reporting and resisting adapting to new technological trends and touching on the interests of contracting authorities or economic operators.

Even when civil society or the media do report on corruption affairs, due to limited exposure of the findings, public institutions often do not address the reported issues or take any remedial actions, especially when this reporting relates to corruption among public officials.

The phenomenon of corruption enables the powerful and the corrupt to maintain their power, acquire wealth from the state and avoid punishment. Ordinary citizens pay the price through livelihood loss, poor public services, limited opportunities and by losing trust in democracy, as they witness government institutions serve private interests. According to a Transparency International report, this happens at all levels of government in the Western Balkans, including in Kosovo – from local to national level – where chains of loyalty and mutual benefits lead officials to abuse their office and tighten the grip of a few networks on these countries.

In 2021, through public procurement, 160 different institutions in Kosovo signed 9,892 contracts worth over €429.6 million. The main source of funding for public tenders was from the state budget – about 80 per cent. The value of the signed contracts equaled about 17 per cent of the total budget of Kosovo.

Kosovo municipalities also lack civic activism and face general apathy, especially when it comes to oversight of works and services delivered by the municipalities. A limited number of citizens attend budget hearings held during the process of drafting municipal budget, which consequently sees projects being funded that do not necessarily represent the actual needs, priorities or concerns of citizens. Similar apathy is also noted in the implementation of public contracts. Few citizens possess information on details of the project, the obligations of the contractors and building standards, which in turn sees many projects lacking the desired quality, as was initially contracted. Unfortunately, this often goes unreported as media, which, when they do not have the necessary information, cannot report or demand corrections when something is wrong in the public contracts.

To respond to some of these issues, Democracy Plus, D+ and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN Kosovo, have joined efforts to design a response to the Terms of Reference. This proposal brings a triangular approach that connects direct monitoring on the ground, comprehensive thank-tank reporting based on research and media reporting to generate public pressure and response once remedial action is needed or good practices are identified in need of promotion.

D+ and BIRN Kosovo bring a combined past performance of excellence in the areas required by this ToR, a team experienced in project management, quality assurance, procurement and financial experts, with policy analysts, editors, journalists, legal advisors, camera operators, audio and video editors, designers and producers, who work to produce impactful written journalism and TV programmes.

Civil society in Kosovo often plays an important role in promoting integrity, exposing wrongdoing, providing recommendations for public institutions and fighting corruption. The vast experience of D+ and BIRN Kosovo in monitoring public procurement processes at the central and local level will ensure the success of this project.

Donor:

USAID

Main Objectives:

 Objective 1: Contribute to an increase in transparency and accountability in local government institutions by monitoring their procurement activities and publishing a report, op-ed and infographics on public spending abuses, institutional wrongdoings and corrupt affairs.

Main Activities:

Activity 1. Direct monitoring of 27 tenders at the pre-tendering, tendering and contract management phases in the municipalities of Gjakovë/Djakovica, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Lipjan/Lipljan, Pejë/Peć, Pristina, Rahovec/Orahovac, Suharekë/Suva Reka, Vushtrri/Vučitrn, and the Ministry of Health

 Activity 2. Publication of one comprehensive monitoring report generated from the direct monitoring and research

 Activity 3. Roundtable for publication of the monitoring procurement report

 Activity 4. Publication of one op-ed, and three infographics which visualize the findings

Target Groups:

Municipalities

NGOs

Institutional officials

Procurement institutions

Citizens of Kosovo

Main implementer:

Democracy Plus

Partners:

BIRN Kosovo

 

 

Addressing Misinformation through Fact-checking Journalism

BIRN Kosovo

This project aims to contribute to combating the spread of fake news and disinformation in Kosovo by raising awareness and promoting fact-checking reporting among the people of Kosovo and supporting fact-checking journalism. The project aims to increase public awareness on fake news and disinformation, especially among marginalized groups such as women, the young and members of non-majority communities.

Summary:

In a multi-ethnic, post-conflict society, misinformation has the potential to adversely impact conditions for sustained peace and coexistence among communities and create political strife, apart from having many of the same consequences that fake news has across the globe.

The project comes at a critical time, as Kosovo witnesses an upward trend in the spread of fake news and disinformation. Media outlets lack the capacity to report on these issues and uphold professional fact-checking standards, while consumers are not well equipped to spot fake news stories and debunk them.

With this project, BIRN Kosovo will continue its work of increasing public awareness of fake news and disinformation, especially among marginalized groups such as women, the young and members of non-majority communities. Through training workshops, short videos, fact-checking articles, TV programmes and other related activities, BIRN will seek to provide objective facts and information to all Kosovo citizens, educating them on how to identify, analyse and debunk fake news misinformation and disinformation.

Donor:

UNMIK

Main Objectives:

Objective 1: enhance media literacy: Youth across Kosovo will gain necessary knowledge of fact-checking and accurate reporting, subjects fundamental to journalistic ethics and skill development, which otherwise have no formal educational training.

Objective 2: increase public awareness of fake news and disinformation relating to areas such as security, health, the economy and culture, creating more discerning consumers of news and reducing the susceptibility of local populations to misinformation and how this phenomenon affects the lives of citizens.

Objective 3: improve knowledge of people across all communities on fake news and disinformation as well as the impacts of these phenomena in society; Increase public awareness of unfolding situations through accurate, timely and objective media reporting.

Objective 4: raise awareness among Albanian and Serbian-speaking communities in Kosovo of fake news relating to inter-ethnic issues, therefore reducing inter-ethnic strife and advancing sustainable peace.

Main Activities:

  1. Organise three (3) training workshops on fact-checking journalism with young journalists and students from different communities in Kosovo.
  2. Produce five (5) short videos on fake news and disinformation, aimed at increasing public awareness of and public vigilance towards fake news and disinformation.
  3. Screen short videos in high school across different municipalities in Kosovo.
  4. Publish 60 articles that debunk fake news or misinformation circulating across various platforms in Kosovo.
  5. Provide fact-checked real-time, accurate reporting during crisis situations.
  6. Broadcast two (2) TV programmes on the impact of fake news on society.
  7. Establish an anti-disinformation partnership with local Serbian-language media.
  8. Publish ten (10) articles debunking fake news as a result of this partnership.

Target Groups:

  • Members of all ethnic communities in Kosovo, particularly Albanians and Serbs
  • Students and journalists of local media from different ethnic backgrounds
  • Citizens of Kosovo

Main implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

Project associates:

Gracanica Online