Author: Eleni Stamatoukou

jCoders Academy, in partnership with BIRN Kosovo, held the last event of its film-making course on March 27, when high school students presented their video productions.

The film-making course, which makes up part of an EU-funded project entitled ‘Solidifying the Resilience of Kosovo’s Current and Future Journalists’, offered eight months of hands-on training that focused on enabling students to tell stories through video and other media content.

At practical workshops, students learned a number of skills including video editing, scriptwriting, pitching and the basics of journalism, with each part of the training course playing a role in preparing students for their final video project.

A total of 75 high school students, 41 of them female, from municipalities across Kosovo including Pristina, Mitrovica, Gjilan, Peja and Prizren, took part in the training programme.

Over a period of eight months, students participated in various phases of the programme including the technical training phase, in which they learned how to use the video editing tool Adobe Premier Pro, the Design Thinking Marathon, through which students selected topics for their final project, and the training and implementation phase, in which students learned new techniques for creating video content and started working on their video presentations.

Students also learned about the basics of journalism through three sessions with guest speaker Jeta Xharra, BIRN Kosovo’s executive director. Xharra spoke about the importance of news, ethics and tackling false information, and shared her experienced with students, helping them create their video work.

At the final event, students presented their video projects in front of an audience of trainers, project representatives and their peers. The event was held at Kino Armata, a local cinema, with fewer than 50 attendees due to measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

A total of 13 videos were presented by various groups covering topics including patriarchy, Down’s Syndrome, the traditions of the Roma community, mental health, deforestation, the education system in Kosovo, the pandemic and its consequences in schools, child labour, cinematography, and functional illiteracy.

The videos were published on BIRN Kosovo’s KALLXO Rinia (KALLXO Youth) platform, as well as on its social media pages. Participants were provided with certificates for successfully finishing the programme.

BIRN Kosovo and its partner jCoders Academy’s aim for the project was to help students learn about technology and develop skills that will be necessary for their future.

On March 24 and 25, BIRN Kosovo, in partnership with the International Press Institute, IPI, held its second two-day training course on tackling disinformation and establishing fact-checking methods.

During the online course, which was part of the “Solidifying the Resilience of Kosovo’s Current and Future Journalists” project, and funded by the EU in Kosovo, participants interacted via video call with specialists from around the world.

On the first day, Carina Van Wyk, head of education and training at Africa Check, Africa’s first independent fact-checking organisation, introduced the topic “Dealing with the (mis)infodemic.” Van Wyk explained how false information spreads, and outlined tips and tools for identifying fake news websites, images and videos used to spread false information.

Allwell Okpi, a researcher and community manager at Africa Check’s Nigeria office, then spoke about how fact-checkers work to adhere to the International Fact-Checking Network’s code of principles, the fact-checking process, and on ways in which journalists can apply it to their work.

In the last session of the first day, Keegan Leech, a researcher at Africa Check based in Johannesburg, spoke more about health and science reporting in the “infodemic” age, sharing tips on finding credible data and preparing for an onslaught of false information related to the COVID-19 vaccines.

The second day was covered by Eoghan Sweeney, an open-source investigation specialist and trainer who over the past decade has helped to establish and develop digital verification and fact-checking operations at media organisations across the globe.

The session covered various topics, including geolocating content and techniques that help figure out the precise location shown in a piece of content. Sweeney also elaborated on issues like source analysis (knowing more about a source’s identity, authenticity and motivations), dealing with the public (how to approach the owners of user-generated content), as well as maintaining integrity and the ethics of investigating as information becomes more easily available.

A total of 34 participants took part in the training, 27 of whom were women.

BIRN and IPI believe that the training will help young journalists tackle fake news and unverified reporting by helping them spot fake news and provide verified information that adheres to journalistic standards.

The delivered knowledge was practical, and will help journalists develop these skills further, while the trainers also expressed a readiness to remain at the participants’ disposal regarding any questions that arise after the two training days come to an end.

The documentary will serve to raise public awareness and inform citizens of the damage being done to the environment in Kosovo.

The main objective of this tender call is to contract a professional production company in Kosovo to produce an up-to-60-minute follow-up to “Kingdom of Coal”, the BIRN documentary that won Best Green Doc award at Dokufest, Prizren, back in 2011.

This documentary will draw on information acquired from citizens most affected by environmental degradation, as well as local communities, civil society organisations, environmental activists, public officials, relevant ministries and other relevant public institutions, energy and environmental experts, health experts, journalists, professors of environmental engineering, energy efficiency and climate change, international health and environment organisations, as well as EU experts and other international donors that have contributed to the protection of environment in Kosovo and to raising awareness on the importance of healthy and sustainable environment.

This activity will be implemented in 2021.

 Applications should be addressed to: [email protected]  with the subject line “Tender Call Application with Ref. no: 2021/01 – Documentary Production – [NAME OF THE APPLICANT]”, by March 12, 2021, at 23:59, at the latest.

*A maximum of 30,000 euros will be offered for the production of the documentary.

For more information, instructions and the application form, click the links below for:

• Albanian
• English
• Serbian

This tender call for applications is open within the project “Europeanization of Kosovo’s Environmental Agenda”. The project is supported by the European Union Office in Kosovo and implemented by BIRN Kosovo, TV Mreža, ERA Group, and Bankwatch.

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BIRN Kosova rishpall tender për prodhimin e dokumentarit për zhvillimin e qëndrueshëm në Kosovë

BIRN Kosova, në kuadër të projektit të financuar nga Bashkimi Evropian “Europeanization of Kosovo’s Environmental Agenda”, rishpall tender për prodhimin e një dokumentari deri në 60 minuta për zhvillimin e qëndrueshëm në Kosovë.

Ky dokumentar ka për qëllim të rrisë vetëdijen dhe t’i informojë qytetarët rreth dëmit që po i bëhet ambientit në Kosovë.

Objektivi kryesor i këtij tenderi është të kontraktohet një kompani profesionale në Kosovë për prodhimin e dokumentarit deri në 60 minuta. Ky dokumentar do të jetë pasues i dokumentarit të BIRN-it “Mbretëria e Qymyrit” që ka fituar çmimin “Best Green Documentary” në festivalin DokuFest në Prizren, në vitin 2011.

Ky dokumentar do të shfrytëzojë informacione të nxjerra nga qytetarët e ndikuar nga degradimi i ambientit, komunitetet lokale, organizatat e shoqërisë civile, aktivistë të ambientit, zyrtarë publikë, ministri dhe institucione të tjera relevante, profesorë të inxhinierisë së ambientit, efiçiencës së energjisë dhe ndryshimeve klimatike, organizata ndërkombëtare të shëndetit dhe ambientit si dhe ekspertë nga Bashkimi Evropian dhe donatorë ndërkombëtarë që kanë kontribuar në mbrojtjen e mjedisit në Kosovë.

Ky aktivitet do të implementohet në vitin 2021.

Aplikimet duhet të dorëzohen te  [email protected], me subjektin “Aplikime për tender me numër të referencës 2021/01 – Prodhim Dokumentari – [EMRI I APLIKUESIT], më së largu deri më 12/03/2021, 23:59.

 *Shuma maksimale që do të ofrohet për prodhimin e dokumentarit është 30,000 EUR.

Për të marrë më shumë informata, udhëzime dhe shkarkuar formën e aplikacionit klikoni në linqet më poshtë:

• Shqip
• Anglisht
• Serbisht

Ky tender është hapur përmes projektit “Europeanization of Kosovo’s Environmental Agenda”. Ky projekt mbështetet nga Zyra e Bashkimit Europian në Kosovë dhe implementohet nga BIRN Kosova, TV Mrezha, ERA Group dhe Bankwatch.

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BIRN Kosovo ponovo objavljuje tender za proizvodnju dokumentarnog filma o održivom razvoju na Kosovu

BIRN Kosovo, u okviru projekta „Evropeizacija kosovske agende za zaštitu životne sredine“, koji finansira EU, ponovo objavljuje tenderski poziv za podnošenje predloga za proizvodnju dokumentarnog filma u trajanju od najviše 60 minuta na temu održivog razvoja na Kosovu.

Dokumentarac će poslužiti za podizanje svesti javnosti i informisanje građana o šteti kojoj je izložena životna sredina na Kosovu.

Glavni cilj ovog tenderskog poziva je da se angažuje profesionalna produkcijska kompanija na Kosovu koja će proizvesti dokumentarni film u trajanju do 60 minuta. Dokumentarni film mora biti nastavak dokumentarnog filma BIRN-a „Kraljevstvo uglja”, koji je osvojio nagradu za najbolji zeleni dokumentarac na Dokufestu u Prizrenu 2011. godine.

Ovaj dokumentarni film zasnivaće se na informacijama dobijenim od građana pogođenih degradiranjem životne sredine, lokalnih zajednica, organizacija civilnog društva, ekoloških aktivista, javnih zvaničnika, relevantnih ministarstava i drugih relevantnih javnih institucija, stručnjaka za energetiku i životnu sredinu, zdravstvenih stručnjaka, novinara, profesora inženjerstva zaštite životne sredine, energetske efikasnosti i klimatskih promena, međunarodnih zdravstvenih i ekoloških organizacija, kao i stručnjaka EU i drugih međunarodnih donatora koji su doprineli zaštiti životne sredine na Kosovu, sa namerom da podigne svest šire javnosti o značaju zdrave i održive životne sredine.

Ova aktivnost biće realizovana 2021. godine.

Prijave pošaljite elektronskom poštom na adresu  [email protected]  i u predmetu stavite naznaku „Poziv za prijavljivanje na tender pod ref. br: 2021/01 – Proizvodnja dokumentarca – [NAZIV PODNOSIOCA PRIJAVE]”, najkasnije do 12. 03. 2021. 23.59 časova.

*Maksimalni iznos ponuđen za produkciju dokumentarnog filma je EUR 30,000.

Za podrobnije informacije, uputstva i prijavni obrazac, kliknite na linkove u nastavku:

• albanski
• engleski
• srpski

Ovaj poziv za prijavljivanje na tender otvoren je u okviru projekta „Evropeizacija kosovske agende za zaštitu životne sredine“. Ovaj projekat omogućen je podrškom Kancelarije Evropske unije na Kosovu a realizuju ga BIRN Kosovo, TV Mreža, ERA Group, i Bankwatch.

 

 

On December 24, BIRN Kosovo held a town hall conference in Viti/Vitina on the role of the National Audit Office, NAO, and citizens in overseeing municipal revenues and expenses, the fifth organised within the framework of the Promoting the Auditor General/NAO’s role in Kosovo project.

Supported by the Netherlands’ embassy in Kosovo, these town hall conferences are intended to examine the difficulties municipalities face in collecting revenue and executing their budgets. They also present the findings of the Auditor General, with an emphasis on those relating to public finances.

Present at the conference on Thursday were the Mayor of Viti/Vitina, Sokol Haliti, the head of the Audit Department for Municipalities at the NAO, Astrit Bllaca, and Visar Prebreza, Managing Editor at BIRN’s KALLXO.com.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the debate was attended by a limited number of participants from the municipality, as well as representatives of civil society and members of the municipal assembly. The conference was streamed live on BIRN’s anti-corruption platform KALLXO.com.

Prebreza presented the Auditor’s findings from the 2019 report on the municipality, stating that the municipality should be focused on reducing its debts.

“The Municipality of Viti is one of the municipalities that has received the fewest number of recommendations in its 2019 report,” Prebreza said. “However, the municipality’s debts have increased slightly, and this is a concern, especially as debts in most municipalities are decreasing.”

Mayor Haliti promised that the municipality would act soon on all the NAO recommendations. “We will become the first municipality to implement all of the given recommendations from the NAO,” he declared.