News and Events Archives - Page 188 of 264

BIRN Macedonia Launches Second Call for Investigative Reports

BIRN Macedonia, together with Centre for Investigative journalism – SCOOP Macedonia and the Centre for Civil Communications launched the second call for investigative stories on September 16.

The call is part of the ‘Project for Investigative Journalism and Cooperation Between Media and Civil Society’, part of a USAID programme for strengthening independent media in Macedonia.

In this call that closes on October 4, at least five journalists will be awarded a grant to cover their expenses while doing the investigation and writing the story. More calls for investigative grants will follow, for a total of 40 stories until June 2015.

Journalists will have about three months to dig deeper and research their ideas, but also will have the opportunity to work with experienced editors as their mentors to guide them through the process of writing to BIRN standards.

Topics for investigations include: health; cultural policy; education and youth; human rights; EU integration; good governance; inter-ethnic relations; environment issues; marginalised groups; quality of life.

The call only applies to journalists from Macedonia.

Click for more information about the application procedure, with details in Macedonian.

BIRN BiH at Missing Persons Round-Table

BIRN BiH director Anisa Suceska-Vekic spoke at a round-table discussion entitled ‘Missing Persons from Armed Conflicts and Human Rights Abuses’ on Tuesday in Sarajevo.

It was organised by the International Commission on Missing Persons with the aim of assessing the roles of state, international institutions and civil society in the process of identifying missing persons, building local capacities, and ensuring the rule of law.

Suceska-Vekic spoke about the lessons learned from wartime, emphasising that the experience in the region of accounting for missing persons from the war can be applied in other countries and in other situations such as human trafficking, natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

“Currently there are thousands of people missing all over the world and we as members of civil society should do everything in our power to promote the experience we gained in other countries that are affected by this phenomena,” said Suceska-Vekic.

Over 70 per cent of those who went missing during the war have been accounted for. It is an unprecedented tally and was achieved largely thanks to a rule-of-law-based approach which saw prosecutors and forensic investigators taking the lead in excavating and documenting crimes for criminal trial purposes, said Suceska-Vekic.

The round-table brought together the representatives from the Bosnia and Herzegovina’s human rights and refugees ministry and prosecutor’s office, the Commission on Missing Persons and Humanitarian Law Centre from Serbia, the Croatian family affairs, war veterans and intergenerational solidarity ministry, the Associated Press and BIRN BiH.

Justice Report Editor Urges Better Court Conditions

“The conditions of the Cantonal and District Courts that process war crimes in BiH must be improved to meet the deadline specified by the National Strategy for War Crimes Processing,” Justice Report’s editor-in-chief, Erna Mackic, told Bosnia’s Hayat television.

Speaking about witness protection measures in cases of rape and sexual abuse, she said that victims of such crimes should be able to receive not only physical protection but psychological guidance as well.

On the question whether local courts are sufficiently equipped to process war crimes and protect witnesses, Mackic said the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is an exception but many other courts at the local level, such as those in Banja Luka and Gorazde, work with limited resources, sometime with only one judge and/or prosecutor.

Noting that the war-crimes prosecution process is lengthy, Mackic said that precisely because of that reason, the work of local courts was of great importance if Bosnia is to meet the 2023 deadline.

BIRN-i jep Shpërblim për Gazetarë që Punojnë me Dokumente

A keni botuar storie të suksesshme falë materialeve të marra në bazë të Ligjit për Qasje në Dokumente Publike?

BIRN-i dëshiron të shpërblejë materialisht gazetarët që kanë shfrytëzuar dokumente të tilla për përgatitjen e artikujve të tyre.

BIRN-i ofron çmimin kryesor prej 1000 eurosh për shkrimin më të mirë të gazetarisë hulumtuese që është realizuar duke përdorur dokumente publike të nxjerra nga institucionet. Për fituesit e vendit të dytë janë paraparë 700 euro, ndërsa çmimi i tretë ka vlerën e 300 eurove.

Në këtë mënyrë BIRN-i dëshiron t’i përkrahë gazetarët, ngase ata janë në vijën e parë të frontit të luftës për transparencë në institucionet qeveritare. Kjo luftë është e vështirë. Një raport i kohëve të fundit, i publikuar nga BIRN-i, ka zbuluar se kërkesat e parashtruara në bazë të Ligjit për Qasje në Dokumente Publike janë realizuar në vetëm 30 për qind të rasteve.

Andaj, shkrimi i storieve në bazë të dokumenteve publike të nxjerra ligjërisht, kërkon shumë punë dhe shumë kujdes. Madje edhe nëse kërkesat për dokumente publike nuk përmbushen, vetë akti i presionit mbi institucionet për të zbatuar obligimet e tyre ligjore përbën një vegël të rëndësishme në promovimin e kulturës së transparencës.

Nëse mëtohen përmirësime të theksuara në cilësinë e qeverisjes në Kosovë, duke filluar nga shpenzimet më efektive të parasë publike, deri te luftimi më i efektshëm i korrupsionit, është i domosdoshëm vëzhgimi më intensiv, më inteligjent dhe më i gjerë i punës së sektorit publik.

BIRN-i do të shqyrtojë storiet në shtyp, televizion, radio ose internet, të publikuara në mediume kosovare mes datave 1 gusht 2012 dhe 31 korrik 2013.

Storiet mund të jenë të shkruara në shqip, serbisht ose anglisht. Materialet e siguruara në bazë të Ligjit për Qasje në Dokumente Publike duhet të jenë kyçe për hetimet e kryera për nevoja të këtyre storieve.

Konkurruesit duhet të paraqesin edhe një deklaratë të shkurtër, prej jo më shumë se 800 fjalësh, në të cilën në detaje përshkruajnë se si e kanë shfrytëzuar Ligjin për Qasje në Dokumente Publike gjatë përgatitjes së stories dhe se si materialet e siguruara përmes këtij ligji kanë qenë thelbësore për këtë storie.

Çdo material i paraqitur në konkurs do të shqyrtohet nga një panel i gazetarëve me përvojë.

Për të marrë pjesë në këtë konkurs, konkurrentët duhet të dorëzojnë storien origjinale dhe deklaratën me shkrim, jo më vonë se deri më 20 shtator 2013 në [email protected]. Storiet në radio dhe televizion duhet të paraqiten në formën origjinale të emituar dhe të kenë të bashkëngjitur edhe transkriptin e raportit të emituar.

BIRN-i do t’i shpallë fituesit më 28 shtator 2013, në Ditën Ndërkombëtare të së Drejtës për të Ditur.

BIRN Summer School Chooses Investigative Story Winners

After five days of intensive training at the fourth annual BIRN Summer School, four groups of reporters whose investigations will be funded were announced at the closing ceremony.

The Summer School jury, composed of lead trainer David Leigh, BIRN regional director Gordana Igric, director of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Media Programme South East Europe Christian Spahr and former BIRN editor Lawrence Marzouk, chose the teams from a total of ten.

The teams’ investigations will be financed from a total fund of 6,000 euro and the resulting stories will be published on the Balkan Insight website.

The participants making up the chosen teams were: Kristina Ozimec, Gabriela Delova, Vlado Apostolov and Sashka Cvetkovska from Macedonia; Alisa Mysliu from Albania; Milena Perovic Korac and Milica Marinovic from Montenegro; Magda Munteanu from Romania; Semir Mujkic from Bosnia and Herzegovina; Flutura Kusari, Arta Avdiu and Una Hajdari from Kosovo, and Charly Loufrani from France.

For five days last week, participants at the Summer School from Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, France, Austria and Estonia learned how to use freedom of information laws, conduct investigative interviews, make the most of computer-assisted reporting, start investigations and put stories together, and more.

This year’s Summer School also had two special guest lecturers, the chief officer of Bari police, Luigi Rinella, and former FBI undercover agent Stephen Salmieri. While Rinella explained how the Italian part of the international investigation into suspected Balkan drugs criminal Darko Saric operated, Salmieri presented necessary skills for undercover work.

This year’s BIRN Summer School was held at Bled Lake in Slovenia.

The BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting 2013 was organised in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and with the support of the King Baudouin Foundation, the Belgian National Lottery, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and USAID in Macedonia.

Developing Undercover Work at BIRN Summer School

The fourth day of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Summer School programme continued with lectures on undercover operations and research, as well as tips for following paper trails in stories.

Former FBI undercover operative Stephen Salmieri told the journalists participating in the Summer School that undercover investigative work is extremely dangerous, which is why it should be used as sparingly and requires a lot of preparation.

In order to minimise security risks, Salmieri said that journalists working undercover should not change their personality. He also said that journalists should know their targets and research their sources, as well as keep in constant contact with their parent organisation.

“When doing investigations, know everything you can know your enemy. Let go of your ego and reduce tensions. If you come across as aggressive, the situation will quickly escalate,” said Salmieri.

A perfect undercover agent, according to Salmieri, is a smart and aware person who listens carefully.

Two times Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Nalder gave the participants of the Summer School tips on how to gather material evidence and documents from companies and organisations. He emphasised the importance of physically going to organisations, carefully interviewing workers and using psychological tricks to control the communication with them.

Nalder also said that after gathering documents, journalists should organise them carefully.

“Always be organised. Use Excel or other spreadsheets to organise your documents, otherwise you might get lost in them,” said Nalder.

British journalist David Leigh also discussed the need to collect documents, but also highlighted that while writing the story, journalists should make sure to provide readers with several points of access.

“Provide photos, interviews, galleries and short clips. Presentation is key. Your story is useless if it does not reach the public,” said Leigh.

The BIRN Summer School is taking place this week in Slovenia with 30 journalists from Serbia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Austria, Estonia, France and Romania participating. It will finish on Friday.

The BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting 2013 is organised in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and with the support of the King Baudouin Foundation, the Belgian National Lottery, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, the OSCE Mission to Serbia and USAID in Macedonia.

BIRN’s Summer School Hears Tips For Developing Investigations

The second day of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network’s annual summer school for investigative journalism continued with lectures and workshops on how to develop story ideas and gather information.

Renowned British journalist David Leigh started the day by speaking about possibilities for developing stories which have emerged from major data leaks, such as the material released by WikiLeaks.

“Your aim should be to use WikiLeaks to build your investigations by using the information as actual leads to uncover new things,” said Leigh.

Another way to collect valuable information when building investigations is filing official requests for information to governments, said Helen Derbishire, from the NGO Access Info Europe.

“The requests themselves can help your stories in many ways. For one, you can actually get the information you wanted. Never assume you would not get something. Even if you are rejected, you can appeal, but also you can publish the rejection, which is a story in itself,” she said.

German journalist Marcus Lindemann also revealed ways through which researchers can use Google and social networks to find personal data on individuals of interest.

The executive director of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Paul Radu, said that investigations are about creativity and connecting the dots.

“Today we have a lot of access to a variety of information. The more data we have, allows us to discover bigger schemes… This is fun! It’s just great to ruin the plans of criminals and to get to the bottom of a story,” said Radu.

He used examples of several investigations he worked on to explain the ways in which journalists can gather information about money laundering, offshore companies and proxy companies.

Researcher Laura Ranca highlighted the importance of data visualisation in investigations, explaining that the collected information is only as good as it is presented to the readers.

The BIRN Summer School opened on Monday in Bled, Slovenia with 30 journalists from Serbia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Austria, Estonia, France and Romania participating. The lectures will continue on Wednesday.

BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting 2013 is organized in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and with support of King Baudouin Foundation and Belgium National Lottery and OSCE Mission in Kosovo, OSCE Mission to Serbia and USAID in Macedonia.

BIRN’s Journalism Summer School Opens in Slovenia

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network’s annual summer school for investigative journalism has begun at Lake Bled with 30 young journalists participating.

The journalists – from Serbia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, Austria, Estonia, France and Romania – heard on the first day about investigative stories, methods of online research and the challenges of reporting on human trafficking.

Renowned British journalist David Leigh explained that working on investigative stories is a dangerous game. “In essence, you’re blundering along blind, because you don’t know what you’re looking for, but despite this, it is your job to collect the evidence and proof,” said Leigh.

He added that the longstanding principles of Britain’s Guardian newspaper – honesty, integrity, courage, fairness and a sense of duty – are applicable to modern investigative journalism.

Leigh told the participants about a seven-year-long investigation that he was part of, which uncovered bribery in arms dealings in Britain, highlighted the need for patience and hard, written evidence for investigative stories.

“Comment is free, but facts are sacred. This is why it is the job of journalists to get the facts right,” said Leigh.

German executive producer and journalist Marcus Lindemann discussed various online research possibilities. He revealed effective ways in which journalists can get information online about companies, individuals and issues.

The summer school’s first working day ended with a discussion about the challenges of investigative reporting about human trafficking. Independent consultant and adviser Ruth Rosenberg spoke about the need for journalists to be highly sensitive to victims’ needs when reporting about trafficking.

“We must take care of the privacy, confidentiality and security of victims when reporting on human trafficking stories. You, as journalists, must bear in mind that your stories can have extreme consequences for the people you interview,” said Rosenberg.

Slovenian state prosecutor Savica Pureber and Katjusa Popovic from the NGO Kljuc talked about how the state and non-governmental sector work together to deal with human trafficking issues, highlighting the need for media to cover these stories, but in a sensitive and professional manner.

Meanwhile, Marija Andjelkovic from the NGO ASTRA in Serbia told the journalists about her organisation which runs a trafficking hotline which has received thousands of calls.

“The trends of trafficking in Serbia are changing. Ten years ago we had mostly victims of trafficking from Moldova, Russia, but today 99 per cent of victims are from Serbia. We are also seeing a rise in under-age victims,” said Andjelkovic.

Katrin Adams, who works on the prevention of human trafficking for Germany’s Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, said that because these issues have been in the public eye for a while, the situation in the region has improved compared to 15 to 20 years ago.

“Prosecutors and judges have been sensitised. We have NGOs and they cooperate very well, but we have problems with sustainable and coherent ideas to improve the social welfare system. We need sustainable prevention,” said Adams.

BIRN at the screening of Justice in Action documentary

The British Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina premiered Fiona Lloyd-Davies’ award-documentary Justice in Action, on Monday in Sarajevo.

The film features a group of six young students from Mulberry School for Girls in London who embarked on a journey to explore the turbulent history of BiH, the site of Europe’s worst genocide since the Second World War.

“I needed to prepare for victims of rape, victims of genocide, people who have lost their families, and I need to be able to deal with that emotionally,” stated Fatima, one of the girl students.

Their journey took them to Sarajevo and Srebrenica where they had an opportunity to see the sites of mass atrocities and speak to about what justice really means to those who want it most.

“When we talk about justice for victims or justice for survivors they are talking about what I call reckoning”, said Ed Vulliamy, a British-based reporter during the war in Bosnia, recalling an interview with the girls.

In The Hague they attended the trial to Radovan Karadzic, charged for genocide, and spoke to his defence counsel as well as the chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz, and the former BIRN BiH director and ICTY spokesperson Nerma Jelacic.

Justice in Action won Best International Documentary at the People’s Film Festival in New York.

Fiona Lloyd-Davies first went to BiH at the height of the war in July 1992. She continued to work there during and after the war for the BBC, Channel 4 and Al Jazeera English.

BIRN featured in new Bosnia war crimes book

BIRN’s work in the field of war crimes prosecutions and transitional justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina features several times in a new book by Sarajevo-based law professor and human rights activist Goran Simic.

The book, entitled War Crime Trials in BiH, is about the issues faced by people living in a post-conflict society.

“People in post-conflict societies are at a crossroads wondering how to overcome a past filled with war victims, torture, and criminals,” Simic writes in the book.

The author deals with reconciliation and forgiveness from different religious, political and psychological aspects, stating that hundreds if not thousands of war criminals are still walking freely among their victims who at the same time are trying to build normal lives.

Simic defines transitional justice concepts and gives a historical background to the war crimes committed in the 1990s. He also reflects on the work done so far by the institutions dealing with war crimes in the country, and concludes by identifying the issues that are standing in the way of peaceful coexistence.

The book is available in Bosnian via: www.knjiga.ba/sudenja-za-ratne-zlocine-u-bosni-i-hercegovini-k8839.html

The author’s website address is: www.goransimic.ba.