News and Events Archives - Page 14 of 264

BIRN Marks World News Day, Highlighting 12 Investigations from 12 Months

September 28 is World News Day, a global campaign dedicated to highlighting the importance of fact-based journalism.

by Aleksandra Vrbica

Alongside hundreds of news organisations, media support associations and individuals from over 100 countries, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) is taking part in this year’s World News Day, which is aimed at raising awareness about the value of credible news reporting.

As part of the World News Day activities, BIRN is highlighting 12 of Balkan Insight’s most important investigations from the past 12 months. The stories include reports on journalists being targeted by law enforcement in Romania and by the intelligence service in Serbia, the torture of migrants in the Balkans by an armed Afghan gang and the escalation of arms shipments to Israel from Serbia.

Press freedom

Becoming the Story: How Journalists Are Being Targeted by Romanian Law Enforcement

This report reveals how journalists conducting public-interest investigations in Romania were put under surveillance by their targets with the help of law enforcement.

Silent Spying: How Serbian Intelligence Hacks Activists’ Phones – Without Them Knowing

A BIRN investigation supported by Amnesty International showed how Serbia’s domestic security agency has been unlocking activists’ phones using Israeli technology and installing a locally-developed spyware.

Serbia and Israel

Regardless of War Crimes Claims, Serbia’s Arms Sales to Israel Soar

Between 2023 and 2024, the value of Serbian arms sales to Israel rose from 1.4 million euros to 42.3 million. Belgrade shrugged off widespread accusations of Israeli war crimes in Gaza and calls from United Nations human rights experts for a halt to the delivery of deadly weapons, BIRN and Haaretz reported.

Billboards and Bullets: An Israeli Spin Doctor at the Service of Serbia

Israeli PR guru Srulik Einhorn worked to burnish the image of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, BIRN and Haaretz reported – facilitate the flow of Serbian arms to Israel’s war in Gaza. Wanted for questioning in Israel, Einhorn has set up shop in Belgrade.

Srulik Einhorn (L) taking a photo of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Serbian Progressive Party headquarters, June 21, 2020. Photo: Vesna Lalic/Nova.rs

The Balkan migrant route

As Borders Tighten, Violence Rises on Migrant Route Through the Balkans

According to Frontex, the EU’s border force, the number of ‘illegal migrants’ using the Balkan route to reach the European bloc has fallen. With the EU tightening its borders, violent transnational smuggling groups have strengthened their grip on the routes that bring refugees and migrants to Europe through the Balkans.

BWK: The Armed Afghan Gang Terrorising Migrants, Refugees Crossing Bosnia

Amid heightened border security, an armed Afghan gang operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina has turned to kidnapping asylum seekers and demanding ransom payments from their families. Its tactics include physical abuse and sometimes rape.

Italy to Albania, and Back: A Migrant’s Journey Through Italy’s Asylum Experiment

Italy’s right-wing government called it a magic wand for the migrants arriving on its shores, but a deal with Albania to outsource and accelerate asylum processing has run afoul of Italian courts. One Bangladeshi’s story explains how it also makes migrants’ journeys even more traumatic.

‘Like Prison’: How African Migrant Workers Suffer Exploitation in Albania

Migrant workers from Africa told BIRN about having to surrender their passports on arrival in Albania, working unpaid overtime and facing deportation once they are no longer required. Many are left with debts to the agencies that act as middlemen.

Operation Interceptor: How Bosnia’s Border Chief Created His Own Elite Unit

This report from Sarajevo details the creation of a shadowy, heavily-armed and potentially illegal police unit at the exclusive, 24-hour beck and call of the man who led Bosnia’s border police for nine years and is now a fugitive from arrest.

Corruption in the Balkans

School Scam: The Phantom Organisations Hoovering up Serbian Public Money

In 2022 and 2023, Serbia’s Education Ministry allocated almost 200,000 euros to 11 NGOs to organise violence prevention workshops in schools. BIRN has traced all the NGOs to the same small group of people – and found that most of the workshops never happened.

Wartime crimes

‘With Our Bare Hands’: The Roma Forced to Clean up Serbia’s Crimes in Kosovo

During the 1998-99 war in Kosovo, Roma municipal employees were forced to clean up the crimes committed by Serbian forces, carrying and disposing of corpses with their bare hands. Branded collaborators, they were targeted for revenge after the fighting finished.

China in the Balkans

Parallel Government: How Vucic Turned Serbia’s Constitution on its Head

The case of a Chinese-led power plant expansion in Serbia laid bare the extent to which President Aleksandar Vucic has upended the country’s constitution, creating an unofficial layer of government calling the shots in areas where legal experts say it has no jurisdiction whatsoever.

Meet the People Behind BIRN: Dragana Zarkovic Obradovic

Dragana Zarkovic Obradovic is BIRN Serbia’s Director and a Regional Manager of the Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence programme.

With extensive media experience and a strong background in project management, Dragana joined BIRN in February 2006, only a couple of months after its establishment, as project manager. She was promoted to country director in 2007.

Dragana previously worked for prominent international organisations, such as the Stability Pact for SEE, Transparency International and the European Agency for Reconstruction, as well as for electronic media.

Under her leadership, BIRN Serbia has been recognised for its professionalism and ability to influence the public agenda in the fields of media development and good governance.

But she only learned about the organisation a few days before her job interview.

“A colleague asked me if I’d like to meet Dragana Solomon, who was then the [BIRN Serbia] director. I still remember that meeting clearly. The office was in Jovanova Street, in Dorćol, a historic part of Belgrade. It was an informal, chatty meeting, and she was enthusiastic about what they had just started: five brave women. She wasn’t even sure exactly what they needed from me, but she was open to ideas. I remember that I felt this was the place where I could grow,” Dragana says.

In her opinion, it was great to be part of a team building something from scratch.

“Those of us who are here [in BIRN] from the beginning grew professionally alongside the organisation. Back then, we were just three people. Today, BIRN Serbia is a leading, award-winning investigative outlet that sets standards in the profession. We’re just now working on new projects about AI in journalism, kickstarting a community programme, and redesigning our website. It never stands still, and as long as we manage to remain relevant and at the forefront of media development, I assume expectations are met,” explains Dragana.

What she didn’t expect back then was again to see people fighting for democracy and institutions on the streets of Serbia – or the whole world to slip into a post-truth era.

“Someone more cynical might say journalism has failed. But despite that, I was never ashamed to say where I work, in a country that has seen a dramatic decline of professional journalism, which is already a success,” she says.

BIRN has experienced many changes over the last 20 years. One of the most significant is growth.

“From a small group of enthusiasts with shared values, the BIRN network became a professional organisation with more than 300 people across the region. Of course, that changes the working culture. But I do believe our core values are still intact,” she adds.

In addition to being BIRN Serbia director, Dragana is Regional Manager of the Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence programme.

“Managing these positions is possible because I have a great team and devoted partners. I’ve been doing both almost since the beginning and for me it’s the perfect balance. As director of BIRN Serbia, I am deeply rooted in the local scene, and the Fellowship broadens my horizons. I’ve met the brightest journalists from across Central and Eastern Europe,” she explains.

The Fellowship’s alumni network now has about 150 members.

“Together, we’ve produced world-class long-form journalism on a range of topics as wide as the cover-up of toxic leakages in the Czech Republic, to Belarusian hooligans seeking asylum in Poland, pro-family movements in Croatia, or the ethical dilemmas around Greece’s booming IVF industry.

“It keeps my curiosity alive. Some of the things that I learn from them we are also trying to implement in Serbia. If anyone needs tips from the Balkans to the Baltics, I’m your person,” Dragana says.

However, during her work in BIRN Serbia, Dragana, along with the rest of the team, has encountered various obstacles.

“Obstacles are many, unfortunately. First and foremost, financial challenges. There’s no sustainable business model for public interest media globally, and especially in politically captured markets like Serbia.

“Then come threats to physical safety, smear campaigns and digital threats, including spyware attacks on my colleagues. Add to that, non-functional institutions, and most recently, a new form of pressure, SLAPP lawsuits; we’re currently facing five of those,” explains Dragana.

Still, against all the odds, “we’re alive and kicking,” she adds.

“We keep reporting on corruption and systemic problems. We tell stories that people can relate to. We help them see the truth and understand it better. And in that context, being attacked means that we are doing our job well,” Dragana says.

As BIRN means “freedom to do what she believes in”, would she have done anything differently in her professional path, if she could?

“It’s a very hypothetical question. I could have done many things differently, but then the outcomes would be different as well, and I quite like what we’ve made. So instead of looking back, I’d rather focus on what’s coming next. We still have so much to do,” she says.

Speaking of how she sees BIRN in the next 20 years, Dragana says “the entire environment in which we work has changed” in the last 20 years.

“The main social and political concepts have changed globally, also affecting the media and its role in societies. We have also witnessed major technological developments. I sometimes joke that I became a director because I was the only one who knew how to use Excel, and since then, things have accelerated. The way we communicate, access and consume content, and the demands of the market, have completely changed, while the threats to information integrity are mounting.

Dragana with Denis Dzidic, BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Director, and Ana Petrusheva, BIRN Macedonia’s Director

“Exactly because of that, I believe that real, hardcore journalism will be even more relevant in the years to come. So, I see BIRN adapting to new realities and staying faithful to its mission – to bring important stories to people,” she adds.

Those important stories are brought to the people through trusted independent journalism. September 28 is World News Day, a global campaign dedicated to highlighting the importance of fact-based journalism. Alongside hundreds of news organisations, media support associations, and individuals from over 100 countries, BIRN is participating in this year’s World News Day, which aims to raise awareness about the value of credible news reporting.

“Trusted journalism helps people make sense of the world, which is precisely why it is often seen as a threat by those in power who work hard to undermine it,” Dragana says.

“It prevents citizens from being left in the dark or manipulated by propaganda and lies, especially in times of crisis. For instance, since the recent protests in Serbia began, independent media have experienced a notable surge in audience. In societies where professional journalism is in decline and threats to reporters are increasing, producing fact-based, independent, trusted reporting becomes not only a public service but also an act of resistance,” she explains.

Outside of work, Dragana is a mother, daughter, sister, and friend. “People are what drive me, in work and in life. So, in my free time, you’ll probably find me surrounded by my gang,” she concludes.

BIRN Kosovo Holds Workshop for local CSOs on terrorism and extremism monitoring

On September 23, 2025, BIRN Kosovo organized a one-day workshop in Prishtina for local civil society organizations (CSOs), aimed at strengthening their capacity to develop monitoring and research projects in the field of terrorism and violent extremism.

The workshop opened with a discussion where representatives of local CSOs shared insights into their current work and areas of interest in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) and Rehabilitation and Reintegration (R&R). This was followed by a presentation from Kreshnik Gashi – Member of the Working Group for the National Strategy and Menaging Editor at Kallxo.com, who examined how different forms of extremism and terrorism have developed in Kosovo over the years, with a particular focus on specific locations.

Labinot Leposhtica, head of BIRN Kosova’s legal office, presented the National Strategy for Preventing and Countering Terrorism 2023–2028, highlighting its Action Plan. The presentation sparked important discussions with participants from municipalities across Kosovo, emphasizing the role of CSOs in implementing and monitoring the strategy at the local level.

The second part of the workshop focused on practical approaches. Kreshnik Gashi guided participants through the process of developing ideas, programs, and projects in P/CVE and R&R and concrete examples were provided on potential subfields where future initiatives could focus, particularly in monitoring the implementation of the national strategy at the municipal level- with an emphasis on prevention initiatives and ideas.

A total of 17 participants attended the one-day workshop, including 7 women.

Throughout the sessions, participants were highly engaged, emphasizing the importance of such workshops in enhancing their knowledge of P/CVE, R&R, and other forms of extremism. They noted that this kind of training serves as a valuable referral mechanism to strengthen their work at the local level.

This workshop was organized within the framework of the Resilient and Inclusive Community Programme, supported by GCERF.

BIRN Shares Regional Insights on Digital Rights at Global Gathering 2025

From September 8-10, BIRN participated in the Global Gathering 2025 in Portugal, one of the most significant global events bringing together key actors working on digital rights and media freedom.

This year’s Global Gathering focused on topics such as the digital security of journalists and civil society, countering online censorship and surveillance, disinformation and internet governance. The event brought together participants from over 144 countries. Through numerous discussions, sessions, and exchanges of experience, it provided space for collectively exploring ways to counter the increasing threats to digital freedoms.

“Participating in the 2025 Global Gathering was a powerful reminder of the importance of collaboration and solidarity among civil society, researchers, journalists, and technologists, in the face of growing digital authoritarianism. We had the chance to discuss strategies for building resilience and improving our watchdog work on digital rights violations. This is especially critical now, as civil society and independent media around the world operate under growing pressure, not only from repressive regimes, but also from severe financial constraints. In this context, staying focused, adaptable, and united in our commitment to digital freedoms is not only urgent, but essential.”
– Megi Reci, Digital Rights Research Lead at BIRN

As part of our contribution to the event, BIRN hosted a two-hour booth where we showcased the results of the Digital Rights Programme and shared insights from Southeast Europe. We used the opportunity to raise awareness about key findings related to censorship and surveillance in the Western Balkans, based on research conducted in 2024 and early 2025.

“At the event, we contributed by sharing BIRN’s experience in developing and applying civic monitoring methodologies to document and respond to digital rights violations, particularly in hybrid regimes across South East Europe. We presented findings from our ongoing research into surveillance and censorship practices in the Western Balkans, highlighted the importance of protecting digital rights during elections and political unrest, and addressed the often overlooked collusion between state actors and private tech companies.”
– Megi Reci added.

This participation holds particular significance as BIRN marks 20 years of work in defending media freedom, transparency, and human rights across the region. Reflecting on this milestone, Digital Rights Programme Coordinator Azra Milić noted:

“Over two decades of BIRN’s work, we have witnessed how the nature of repression has shifted – increasingly moving into the digital environment. In response to these changes, BIRN established the Digital Rights Programme, recognising the growing need to protect digital freedoms.”

BIRN BiH Director Wins ‘Goran Bubalo’ Peace Award

BIRN BiH director Dzenis Dzidic receives prestigious award for long-standing contribution to investigative journalism and media freedom.

The Network for Building Peace has presented the “Goran Bubalo” award for contribution to peace, equality, and justice to Denis Dzidic, director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BIRN BiH.

The committee for the award, which is named after the prominent peace activist who died in 2020, stated that it was giving the award to Dzidic for his long-standing work in investigative journalism and contribution to media freedom.

“As personal as this award is, my work would not be possible without the people I work with,” Dzidic said during the award ceremony held in Mostar on the occasion of the International Day of Peace.

“It means an incredibly lot to me that the nomination was made by people with whom I work every day,” Dzidic said, also thanking the Network for Building Peace as the award organiser.

When selecting the winners of this peace award, the nominees’ achievements in the year prior to receiving the award are taken into account, along with their ongoing contribution to improving human rights, preserving and building peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Radenko Udovcic, project manager of the Network for Building Peace, said that this recognition was given to people who had made an important contribution in Bosnia through their work.

“They reconciled, connected, offered solutions, and even did something in terms of cultural and political creative activity, like making some theatre plays that filled auditoriums and positively influenced public opinion,” he explained.

Udovcic says that every individual in Bosnia has the opportunity to get this award regardless of which part of the country they come from or their political affiliation, as long as they have done something to connect people.

The award was established in 2013, and was named after Goran Bubalo in 2020, in memory of the late founder and president of the Network for Building Peace.

During the ceremony in Mostar, Dzidic stated that he met Bubalo as a young journalist, when he had just started working on reconciliation and transitional justice topics.

“A few years later, when I was invited to a working group on the media and transitional justice on a project together with him, I talked to him for a long time about what I thought about the challenges of reporting on war crimes. He said: ‘Friend…’ and went on to build my idea. He made it infinitely better. But this was the first time I felt heard while dealing with the topic of my interest,” Dzidic said.

On Saturday, the Network also gave an award for continuous humanitarian work in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Pomozi.ba Association, which was accepted by project manager Midhad Brkan.

“We at Pomozi.ba believe that humanity has no borders, that empathy knows no differences, that small actions can initiate great changes. This award motivates us further to persist in this mission,” Brkan said.

International Peace Days were held in Mostar this year again. During events that lasted three days, round tables, debates, poetry evenings, and performances were organised, all containing peace as a common theme.

BIRN Albania Holds Training Against Disinformation

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania organized a three-day training in the ciy of Durrës from September 19 to 21.

The training, which focused on OSINT and fact-checking, was designed to strengthen resilience against disinformation and brought together 22 journalists from various broadcast and online media outlets.

Michael Colborne, an experienced trainer, journalist and OSINT practitioner with Bellingcat, introduced participants to the fundamentals of open-source research and journalism. His sessions covered digital footprint tracing, passive or pseudonymous investigation, in-depth research on social networks such as Telegram and Instagram, and the use of facial recognition tools.

Milica Stojanovic, an experienced fact-checker and journalist with BIRN Hub, trained participants on how Balkan Insight has made rigorous fact-checking an integral part of its investigative journalism. She also shared methods for verifying third-party content and discussed the use of artificial intelligence in fact-checking.

The training was conducted as part of the project “Strengthening Albania’s Information Environment: Countering Disinformation and Enhancing Institutional Resilience”, supported by the British Embassy in Albania.

As a follow-up, participating journalists will be mentored and supported by BIRN to produce OSINT-based investigative stories.

BIRN Albania Opens Call for Investigative Stories on Environment

We are offering grants for three talented journalists to delve deep into environment-related topics, uncover hidden truths, and shed light on critical issues affecting Albanian citizens.

BIRN Albania launched a call for investigative stories on September 15, offering grants to three journalists to produce articles on Albania’s public and private environmental systems.

This call is organized as part of the project “Promoting Accountability through Investigative Journalism,” supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The project aims to build bridges between journalists and civil society to jointly strengthen the fight against corruption and impunity through investigative journalism, with particular focus on:

The environmental impact of energy generation projects, particularly photovoltaic panels and wind turbines;
The management of water resources and rivers;
The cumulative assessment of development projects in protected areas;
Waste management and the overlapping responsibilities for impact assessment among local institutions and government;
Climate change and its effects on agriculture and human health;
The costs and potential benefits of alignment with EU environmental legislation;
Biodiversity and the preservation of natural habitats;
Urbanization and its impact on the environment;
Air management and industrial pollution;
The impact of mass tourism on protected areas;
Green transport policies and sustainable mobility;
Food security and sustainable agriculture.

Selected journalists will have 3-4 months to investigate their chosen topics, conduct in-depth research, and produce high-quality articles that highlight the challenges and dynamics of Albania’s environmental systems.

The call only applies to journalists from Albania and closes on October 05, 2025.

Click here for more information (in Albanian) about the application procedure.

Click here to download the application form (in Albanian).

BIRN Presents ‘Bitter Land’ database at ABOAGORA Symposium on Memory and Justice

At the ABOAGORA symposium in Turku, Finland, on September 12, Nejra Mulaomerovic, Senior Project Manager of the Balkan Transitional Justice programme, presented the first multimedia database mapping mass graves from the Yugoslav wars.

The project highlights the ongoing challenges of remembrance, decades after the armed conflicts ended in former Yugoslavia and amid the gaps in transitional justice.

The panel session, titled Concealed in Plain Sight: Transcribing Transitional Justice Data Between Remembrance and Erasure, explored how judicial archives and public memory can transform fragmented sites of remembrance into meaningful narratives.

“Bitter Land is not only a map. It’s an attempt to resist forgetting,” said Nejra Mulaomerovic, Senior Project Manager of the Balkan Transitional Justice programme.

“To piece together the fragments scattered in archives, in courtrooms and in the soil itself. By bringing these graves into the public space, we’re saying that these crimes cannot be hidden, these people cannot be erased, and memory cannot be denied.

“I invite you to explore the project online, but more importantly — to reflect on what it means for a society when even the dead are unsettled,” she said.

Three other speakers, Ismar Cirkinagic, Selma CatoviC Hughes, and Anita Karabasic, shared artistic explorations of war archives, examining memory, trauma, and collective commemoration.

ABOAGORA’s interdisciplinary format, combining keynote lectures, panel discussions, and performative sessions, provided a platform to bridge archival research, art, and public engagement, highlighting innovative ways to connect past atrocities with present-day memory.

ABOAGORA is an annual international event that promotes dialogue between the arts, humanities, and sciences, held in Turku, Finland.

BIRN Albania Holds Roundtable on Environment

On September 11, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania held a roundtable in Tirana on environmental issues, bringing together journalists and experts from civil society organizations.

Twenty-two journalists and civil society activists participated in the discussion on corruption in Albania’s environmental sector.

The roundtable was moderated by Besjana Guri, executive director of the LUMI Center and the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize winner for Europe.

The event was organized as part of the project “Promoting Accountability through Investigative Journalism,” supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The project aims to build bridges between journalists and civil society to jointly strengthen the fight against corruption and impunity through investigative journalism.

Key topics discussed included the environmental impact of energy generation projects—particularly photovoltaic and wind turbines; the management of water resources and rivers; the cumulative evaluation of development projects on protected areas; waste management and overlapping impact-assessment responsibilities among local institutions and government; climate change and its effects on agriculture and human health; and the costs and potential benefits of aligning with EU environmental legislation.

Insights from the roundtable will inform an upcoming call for investigative grants for mid-career reporters. The call will provide three reporting grants for journalists investigating corruption and abuse of office in Albania’s environmental sector.

Meet the People Behind BIRN: Ana Petrusheva

This year marks BIRN’s 20th anniversary. It all started when five women from countries recovering from brutal wars defied the odds to establish what would become a major independent media organisation – the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

One of them was Ana Petrusheva, BIRN Macedonia’s director. Prior to founding BIRN, Ana worked as a journalist for various outlets. During the conflict in 2001, she worked for Reuters and started writing for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). In 2003, she became country director for IWPR.

BIRN was founded two years later, and Ana was a managing editor of Balkan Insight between 2006 and 2016. She explains what it was like founding the network in 2005 with female colleagues in the traditional patriarchal region of the Western Balkans.

“In those days we were a small group, of mainly women, and we were all very close, had already worked together, we were loving it and we were convinced that we had a winning formula: that we could marry local knowledge and international standards and produce groundbreaking journalism that would be valuable to both local and international audiences. In doing so, we’d fill a substantial gap between what local media was reporting and how international media would often parachute in and out of our countries and produce reporting that would not necessarily paint the whole story or would lack certain context.

“Although the media market in the Balkans is traditionally oversaturated, it was always contaminated – now probably more than ever – with media serving various political or business interests rather than the public interest. In turn, that has made our role even more important,” says Ana.

There were several obstacles that the founders had to confront in working as an independent regional media organisation.

“Funding was one. We were new, we had great ideas, lots of ambition, but we had to start from scratch. Fortunately, the Swiss were among the first to recognise our potential and they supported the making of our 2005 documentary about Kosovo, ‘Does anyone have a plan?’, which involved dozens of interviews with politicians and ordinary people from the Balkans, as well as various top international officials. I believe it was that film, directed by Lode Desmet, along with the launch of Balkan Insight, that paved the way for the organisation it is today”, says Ana.

Besides working as a country director, she is also a member of the BIRN Board.

“The Board, over the years, has had a very important role in different aspects, from the general direction of the organisation’s development, to fundraising and programmes. My role, specifically, is to represent the Network members, given that the other members of the Board are not from BIRN. The board has played an important role in navigating the organisation, particularly at difficult times when the organisation has been under attack from various actors,” she adds.

As the director of BIRN Macedonia, Petrusheva has many tasks, among others: running the editorial, organising training sessions involving journalists throughout the country, and securing the organisation’s funding. Of course, she prefers some parts of her job.

“My passion and the part of my job I enjoy the most is and always has been the editorial part of it. I have been incredibly lucky to work with some of the finest reporters and editors in the country, who are eager to dive deep into complex stories, no matter how much time and work it takes. At the same time, equally important, we share the same ethical and professional standards to ensure the findings in our investigations are bulletproof. I am immensely proud of our stories and the Prizma publication that is recognised not only for its exceptional investigations but also for excellent writing and original storytelling,” Ana explains.

Speaking about BIRN Macedonia, Ana says it has been a pioneer in the region in developing massive, complex interactive databases on different topics.

“From the award-winning database uncovering the cost of the Skopje 2014 revamp, to a database documenting almost 10 years of foreign investments, which was shortlisted for the global Data Journalism Awards in 2017, to other databases detailing the spending in 80 municipalities over 4 years, exploring agricultural subsidies and media ownership in the country, to the latest published this year documenting all the properties and land owned by the biggest religious communities,” says Petrusheva.

Apart from that, she also enjoys the training sessions BIRN Macedonia organises, mainly for young journalists.

“It is so invigorating, the enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication of young people. It is also a good reminder that despite all the changes and looming dangers for the profession, be it from social media or AI, there are driven young people who recognise journalism as a calling, rather than just a job,” adds Ana.

And, in her opinion, those are the two most important pillars of BIRN’s work – reporting and training.

“Our publications, Balkan Insight – the flagship publication in English – but equally important Prizma in Macedonian, Detektor in Bosnian, BIRN’s publication in Serbia, Kallxo and Reporter in Kosovo and Albania, along with TV production in different countries, the stories that reach audiences through these outlets, that is what BIRN is about,” she says.

“At the same time, hundreds of journalists who have gone through long-running regional programmes such as the Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence and the Summer School of Investigative Reporting are now leading writers and editors in various media across the Balkans,” adds Ana.

With all these BIRN activities in mind, journalism as a whole faces a tough future.

“Given the current global challenges and dangers for journalism, I believe we are entering a phase that will bring a whole new set of difficulties and obstacles for our work. The blurred lines between ‘content’ and journalism, the constant political attacks on professional media, the hike of SLAPP suits, the rise of AI and the decline of professional standards, the rise in journalists being killed, all point to rough seas for the profession, especially in regions with autocrats at the helm”, explains Ana.

For Ana, BIRN means freedom and privilege.

“Freedom to do great journalism, to uncover and expose wrongdoing and systemic flaws, to put difficult and complex issues under the spotlight without anyone hanging over your head, without any agendas. Privilege to work with an amazing team that shares the passion and dedication to make a difference, against all odds.”

But would she do anything differently if she could in her professional path over the past 20 years?

“Not necessarily. I am not a ‘what if’ type of person, as I believe that retrospect leads only to regret. If a certain decision seemed the right call at the time it was made, it was probably right. And when it wasn’t, it was a lesson that has further shaped my personal growth,” says Ana.

She has a clear image of BIRN in the next 20 years.

“Hopefully, it will continue to be a beacon of professional journalism, and its position would be further fortified against the tide of scandalous, false, superficial, malicious information stemming from all sorts of ‘content’ creators. At the same time, I hope it will continue to be an oasis for young reporters who receive BIRN training, regardless of whether on the job within BIRN or through its training programmes.”