The BIRN network celebrated its 10th anniversary from June 12th to 14th with a regional media conference in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, followed by series of team building events, meetings and workshops on Mt Vlasic, some two hours’ drive away.
More than a hundred employees of the organisation from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia participated in two days of events at a hotel on Mt Vlasic.
Programme managers, project coordinators and administrative staff discussed rules, guidelines and a new information management strategy in two sessions led by Dusica Cook, BIRN Regional Operations Manager.
Jeta Xharra, BIRN’s Kosovo Director, used the opportunity to brief the management on the monitoring of elections, courts, procurement, the Kosovo-Serbia agreement, and municipalities.
BIRN journalists attended training sessions on journalistic standards led by Andrew Gray, Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence Editor, and on investigative journalism, led by Lawrence Marzouk, BIRN editor.
Valon Canhasi, BIRN Kosovo’s Social Media Editor, guided journalists on the importance of having a presence on social media and on the latest trends in users’ habits.
Balkan Insight and Balkan Transitional Justice staff held editorial and commissioning meetings, while Ana Petruseva, Balkan Insight’s Managing Editor and Milos Milosavljevic, BIRN’s Chief Digital Officer, held a technical training session for journalists.
Finally, BIRN journalists and management had two sessions – one on databases in the Network and their further development and possible integration, and the other focusing on BIRN’s web strategy.
BIRN Assembly members and Gordana Igric, BIRN’s Regional Network Director, convened for their regular annual meeting where they discussed BIRN’s new five-year strategy.
The BIRN team celebrated the fact that the Balkan Investigative Reporting Regional Network was established in July 2005, ten years ago, since when it has grown significantly, winning numerous national and international awards and merits and becoming one of the most trusted media organisations in the Balkan and Southeast Europe region.
The next meeting of the BIRN network, scheduled for 2017, will see a new round of team building activities, workshops and a checkpoint review of the five-year strategy.