Author: Aleksandra Vrbica

The 14th edition of the Summer School is taking place from August 19 to August 24 in Mlini, close to Dubrovnik in Croatia. Thirty selected journalists from Southeast, Eastern and Central Europe will take part in a week-long intensive training aimed at mastering their investigative skills.

Participants in BIRN’s flagship capacity building programme will learn from experienced and award-winning journalists and editors and other media professionals led by Blake Morrison, investigative projects editor at Reuters in New York.

Journalists will be introduced to the fundamentals of investigative reporting, including work on complex cross-border stories, data journalism and visual storytelling, as well as on how to preserve their own digital security while reporting.

Jonathan Soma, a programmer and educator specializing in making complex data accessible, who has worked with ProPublica and The New York Times, among others, will provide guidance on navigating the challenges posed by AI.

Elena Kostychenko, an independent Russian journalist and civil rights activist, winner of the European Press Prize, will share many of her experiences with School participants, including those on reporting in and on Russia.

She was a special correspondent of Novaya Gazeta for more than 15 years until the newspaper was shut down at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. She covers the war in Ukraine and collaborates with Russian media in exile. In 2023, Elena published a book, I love Russia: Reporting from a lost country.

Investigative journalist Maria Georgieva and her colleague Ali Fegan from the Swedish public broadcaster will be showcasing a large cross-border collaboration by a team of award-winning journalists and editors from four public television and radio broadcasters in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland about “Putin’s shadow war” in the Nordic area.

The Summer School is also hosting sessions focused on visual storytelling, sustainable media industry and business models with Jakub Górnicki, reporter and co-founder of Outriders, a media publication combining art, journalism and technology.

BIRN will also showcase some of its own work at the cross-section of investigative and engagement journalism and digital rights violations monitoring. It will share its experience in covering transitional justice issues and documenting war crimes, relevant in view of reporting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Continued collaboration with The Self-Investigation foundation will provide important discussions on mental health and well-being in the newsrooms. The setting in Mlini is familiar – it will be the third Summer School in this beautiful village on the Croatian coast – and will help us to combine hard work with time for self-care. BIRN will also provide space for networking and future collaborations beyond the Summer School.

As every year, BIRN is providing 30 full scholarships for selected participants. Journalists from the following countries are eligible to apply: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This will cover a full stipend for participation in the programme, accommodation, meals, as well as transportation expenses of up to €200.

The focus remains on journalists from the Balkans, while the list of eligible countries has expanded over the years following BIRN’s increased coverage of the wider region of Southeast and Central Europe, and also to enable further exchange of knowledge and incentivise cross-border collaboration. This year we would like to particularly encourage journalists from Ukraine to apply for the School, as we believe it is crucial to provide capacity building support to those pursuing investigative stories in the times of war.

In addition to training, editorial support and mentorship, through our Investigative Initiative Story Fund, BIRN will provide selected participants with funds to support story development and production.

Participants are requested to prepare a proposal for an investigative story and present it during the week in Croatia, to be worked on in the months following the School, either alone or in a cross-border team. On the last day of the School, a jury composed of BIRN editors and trainers will award the best pitches with editorial, financial and publication support.

Limited spots are also available for international participants who want to take part in the training and cover their own costs. They need to cover an all-inclusive fee of €1,500, covering full board at the hotel Astarea in Mlini, where the Summer School is taking place. No extra charges are requested for tuition.

Applications close on July 7, 2024.

Click here to apply!

The Internet Freedom Meet (IFM), organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) with the support of the European Union, brought together experts from different spheres of society this year to discuss ongoing and new challenges in the online sphere.

David Geer, Head of the Delegation of the European Union in North Macedonia, said solving Internet challenges requires the involvement of the whole of society. “They are not just challenges for governments to tackle but for all of us and all relevant addresses of Internet governance, from the private sector, government, academia, technology companies, to civil society and the media,” Geer said.

Speaking about foundations, consequences and solutions for the misuse of data on the Internet, Kosovo’s Commissioner for Information and Privacy, Krenare Dermak, said the first step is to teach citizens the basics of Internet searches. He suggests we should never agree to give access to all cookies, because that means giving access to all of our information, while at the same time, the user usually does not know where that data goes and to whom.

Journalists at the Internet Freedom Meet drew attention to gender-based violence, which is common online and mostly aimed at the sexual freedom of women. They stated that thousands of men are sharing intimate content on girls and women without their permission. The victims are often minors, which is an additional motive for the involvement of prosecutors. Recently, several leaders of Telegram groups were arrested in one action.

Telegram, it was noted, is an attractive app for those who intend to break the law, participate in creating or joining extremist groups, or are part of huge disinformation networks. Anonymity, protection of exchanged messages, and the lack of cooperation from Telegram owners with local prosecutors, all contribute to the popularity of the application.

While it can be used benignly and positively, it has also caused significant damage to individuals and society as a whole, experts concluded at the conference. Strict regulation of the use of artificial intelligence (AI), expert Arvin Kamberi mentioned, may not be the best solution. However, in the long run, AI’s monopoly on knowledge could become problematic.

Participants in Skopje also discussed the need for and reasons behind the use of public surveillance cameras, which must be strictly regulated, as well as the way in which camera data is used.

Finally, panelists touched on the problem of elections and pre-election campaigns, which are increasingly challenged by misinformation and the use of artificial intelligence, AI, to undermine the integrity of institutions or political opponents.

The IFM concluded with the presentation of BIRN’s project “Reporting Digital Rights and Freedoms”, emphasizing how cooperation with independent experts and institutions can be achieved.

The Global Index on Responsible AI, GIRAI, is the first tool to set globally relevant benchmarks for responsible AI and assess them in countries around the world.

This study constitutes the largest global data collection on responsible AI to date. In its first edition, the Index represents primary data collected by researchers from 138 countries, including 41 countries from Africa, between November 1, 2021 and November 1, 2023.

During the panel, the 1st edition report and an interactive portal providing open access to all the data gathered as part of the project were made available online at global-index.ai.

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN HUB, contributed to the Index, leading the research for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia.

“Working on the first edition of GIRAI was both a privilege and a challenge. As we delved into the data and sought relevant evidence, we observed a significant discrepancy between countries. While some nations lead in AI use and initiatives, much remains to be done regarding ethical AI development,” said Ivana Jeremic, BIRN’s Digital Rights Programme Content Lead and GIRAI Southeast Europe Research Team Leader.

“The index will become a valuable tool for tracking progress and an excellent resource for journalists and researchers. This process has been a learning experience, and I believe the next round will be even better, hopefully including more countries, given the importance of this topic,” she added.

The GIRAI is a flagship project by the Global Center on AI Governance that tracks and measures countries’ commitments and progress towards responsible AI. The tool is comprehensive and multidimensional, involving data collection and analysis from 138 countries to provide a comprehensive understanding of how nations are addressing the ethical, social, and regulatory challenges posed by AI technologies.

The Index highlights global trends and gaps in responsible AI, serving as a critical tool for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders to understand the current landscape and drive improvements. It promotes international cooperation, encourages the adoption of human-centric AI frameworks, and fosters a sustainable and ethical future for AI.

On June 10 and 11, 23 journalists attended an online training on Data Analysis and Visualization, part of the Western Balkans Media for Change project’s learning circle.

Representing media outlets from six countries – Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo – the journalists acquired skills essential for contemporary newsrooms.

Data analysis is a cornerstone of investigative journalism, enabling journalists to uncover hidden stories. In today’s media landscape, data visualization is equally critical.

The online training was led by Jonathan Stoneman, a journalist and trainer with extensive experience at the BBC, where he served as a researcher, producer and director for the Macedonian and Croatian language services. Following his tenure with the BBC World Service in Zagreb, Stoneman dedicated his expertise to training journalists, with a focus on data analysis.

“Think about your data like interviewing a person,” Stoneman advised the trainees. “If you think of data as a source, you ask it questions.”

The first day concentrated on data analysis techniques, including filtering, sorting, summarizing, and refining data, using accessible tools like OpenRefine. The second day shifted focus to data visualization and producing stories from data using different angles and types of information display. Participants were introduced to various user-friendly tools suitable for any newsroom.

In addition to the primary trainer, investigative journalists from BIRN Serbia and BIRN Macedonia presented case studies. Goce Trpkovski and Miodrag Marković showcased how utilizing tools can facilitate in-depth exploration and presentation of investigative topics in the region. Complementing the training, Fokus from Sarajevo demonstrated their own example of effective data visualization.

The training underscored the importance of incorporating diverse communities and gender-sensitive data into analyses. This learning circle is part of a broader editorial and mentoring support initiative for journalists and media outlets. The project also provides financial assistance to enhance operational capacity, business sustainability, and innovation potential. Its goal is to equip media professionals with the skills needed to produce high-quality, diverse, fact-checked, and gender-sensitive content that engages wider audiences.

The Western Balkans Media for Change project is funded by the UK government and implemented by the British Council in partnership with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Thomson Foundation and The International NGO Training and Research Centre, INTRAC.

It supports the work of media outlets and individual journalists from the Western Balkan countries.