News and Events Archives - Page 32 of 265

BIRN Holds Training Camp on Legally Safe and Crisis Reporting

Journalists from Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia attending BIRN’s Regional Training Camp on Legally Safe and Crisis Reporting on September 18-20 in Bjelasnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, learned how to protect themselves and their newsrooms from different kinds of attacks, including physical attacks, legal actions such as SLAPP lawsuits, as well as how to preserve their digital security.

The camp was organised in cooperation with the Silk Training Centre from the UK, which has developed a unique, tailor-made training to suit participants’ needs.

The first part of the programme focused on understanding the threats and risks the participants might be exposed to – and what they can do about them.

The second part focused on building the participants’ skills as first aiders.

The trainer and participants worked on practicing first aid and applying trauma first aid in a remote high-risk setting, including many skills that will be useful on a day-to-day basis.

The training also included a session about the protection of critical assets, assessments of threats and vectors, and physical and cyber information security risks.

During the training, participants had a chance to practically test the first aid tactics, helping an injured journalist with augmented reality techniques, and developing a protection scenario for a crisis.

Radmilo Markovic, from BIRN Serbia, then led a session about how journalists can recognise and protect themselves from SLAPPs.

He presented the definition of a SLAPP, including its background, characteristics, targets, legal and financial burden and its psychological effects on journalists and newsrooms.

Radmilo also presented four cases studies of SLAPPs from the Western Balkan region. He finished his presentation with advice on how journalists can best protect themselves from SLAPPs.

Participants expressed their appreciation of the Regional Camp, especially about its practical part.

The Regional Camp was part of the EU-funded project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II”.

BIRN Kosovo and KCSS Provide Training on Detecting, Countering, Disinformation

On September 21-22, journalists and journalism students in Pristina participated in a two-day intensive training focused on disinformation held by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN Kosovo, and the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies, KCSS.

The training aimed to provide practical tools and knowledge to identify and counter Russian, Chinese and religious disinformation in Kosovo.

The first day of the training, led by Skënder Perteshi from KCSS, focused on the context of religious radicalization and extremism in Kosovo and the broader region.

Perteshi highlighted the ways in which extremist groups, both Islamist and Orthodox Christian, utilize disinformation to promote their radical agendas. He discussed how these narratives often target vulnerable populations, aiming to disrupt secularism, democracy and social harmony.

The session explored key topics, such as the dynamics of religious extremism and online radicalization, how extremist groups use disinformation as a tool for recruitment and the importance of developing counter-narratives to combat extremism and false information.

Participants engaged in discussions about the real-world impact of religious disinformation on Kosovo’s communities and how journalists can play a crucial role in exposing and countering these harmful narratives.

On the second day, Visar Prebreza from BIRN Kosovo, introduced participants to the historical and ongoing influence of Russian and Chinese disinformation in Kosovo and the wider Balkans. Prebreza, an expert in fact-checking and disinformation mapping, delved into how these foreign actors use propaganda to shape public opinion and destabilize political and social environments.

Key topics of the second day included: the strategic objectives behind Russian and Chinese-driven disinformation campaigns in the Balkans; the role of investigative journalism in identifying and exposing sources of disinformation; how local media can strengthen their internal capacities to resist and counteract fake news.

Participants were encouraged to think critically about how disinformation affects Kosovo’s political landscape, especially in terms of electoral processes, public trust in institutions and media freedom. The session also emphasized the importance of building a professional foundation in fact-checking and sourcing reliable information.

The training concluded with participants working in groups to develop ideas for citizen activism against disinformation. The focus was on creating community-driven initiatives that empower individuals to recognize and reject false information.

This training was held by BIRN Kosovo and KCSS within the project “Increasing public awareness on Russian, Chinese influence and religious disinformation and equipping media students and journalists with the necessary tools to identify, analyze, and combat disinformation”, supported through the Digital Activism Program by TechSoup Global.

BIRN Albania Opens Call for Investigations on Local Government

BIRN Albania launched a call on September 20, 2024, offering grants to produce investigative in-depth articles on local government in Albania.

BIRN is offering three reporting grants for individual journalists or journalistic teams to cover stories on abuse of office and corruption at local level in Albania.

The grants, as well as the mentorship, fact checking and editorial support are made possible through the funding of the Swedish International Development Agency, SIDA.

The call will fund reporting grants for journalists that investigate corruption and abuse of office in local government, with a particular focus on the topics highlighted during a roundtable held in Tirana on September 17 between journalists and representatives of civil society organisations.

Topics discussed at the roundtable included:

The lack of implementation of integrity and anti-corruption plans, particularly on the elements of ethics and conflict of interests in municipalities and municipal councils;
Nepotism and clientelism in the human resources of municipalities;
Transparency of budgets, public procurement procedures and public contracts awarded by municipalities;
The appointment of people with a criminal background to public inspectorates and their role during elections;
Corruption cases with contracts on waste management or treatment of solid waste;
The lack of representation of rural areas at municipal level;
Lack of sewage and sewage treatment plants in rural areas;
Problems of urban development, building criteria, parking, garbage bins, etc;
Lack of budgets to implement social plans or address the needs of marginalized groups.

The journalists will have around three months to dig deeper and research their ideas. They will also have the opportunity to work with experienced editors as mentors to guide them through the process of writing in accordance with BIRN standards.

The call only applies to journalists from Albania. It closes on October 10, 2024.

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

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

Funding Open to Engage Your Audience: Calling Media Outlets in the Balkans and Visegrad Countries

Media outlets from 10 Balkan and Visegrad countries are invited to apply for grants, training, mentoring, and access to BIRN’s innovative audience-engagement digital tool.

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) is calling on media outlets to involve their audiences in reporting by applying for Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants.

This innovative approach places the audience as a direct and active participant in content creation, fostering trust and stronger relationships between media outlets and their communities, ultimately making them more credible and reliable sources of information.

Do you want to engage your audience and build trust within your community while addressing underreported issues? Submit your original story proposal and share details about the community you wish to engage.

Who is eligible to apply?

Media outlets from the following 10 Balkan and Visegrad countries may apply: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia.

What are we offering?

Grants for individual stories of up to €4,000.
Grants for cross-border stories of up to €8,000.
Four-day online training on audience engagement.
Mentoring throughout the project.
Access to a digital tool to enhance audience engagement.

In this circle BIRN will fund up to nine media outlets to strengthen their reporting and investigate underreported issues within diverse communities. Stories focusing on marginalized communities, youth and women are strongly encouraged.

Media outlets will utilise the audience-engagement tool developed by BIRN to crowdsource, gather and analyse data from their communities. Audience-engaged journalism seeks to bridge the gap between newsrooms and their audiences, transforming journalism into a service that directly responds to the needs of the community.

About the project

The Audience-Engaged Journalism Grants are part of the project Media Innovation Europe: Independence Through Sustainability (MIE). This two-year initiative is led by the International Press Institute (IPI) and its consortium partners, The Fix Foundation, BIRN and Thomson Media (TM). The project focuses on building networks, providing consultancy and offering guidance to participating newsrooms.

The first edition of Media Innovation Europe was launched in June 2022 to invigorate the European ecosystem for independent and local journalism. As part of this initiative, media outlets produced a range of audience-engaged stories, some of which you can read here:

How to apply?

To learn more about the grants, click HERE to read the full call for applications. After reviewing the information, follow the link to access the application form.

BIRN will also organise two information sessions, and registration is open:

Information session: 3 October 2024 at 9:00 (CET), register HERE.
Information session: 4 November 2024 at 14:00 (CET), register HERE.

Deadline for application is 27 NOVEMBER 2024.

For further updates, follow BIRN on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.

For clarifications, contact the Project Coordinator: [email protected].

BIRN Kosovo, KCSS, Train Students in Prizren to Recognise and Counter Disinformation

On September 17, students from the Prizren region in Kosovo attended a training session aimed at combating growing foreign and religious disinformation in Kosovo.

Led by experts from the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN Kosovo), the event focused on equipping the participants with practical tools to identify and counter false narratives.

Skënder Perteshi, a researcher at KCSS, opened the training by discussing the strategic aims of radical religious organisations that use disinformation as a tool to undermine democratic institutions. Perteshi highlighted that these actors often target vulnerable audiences by spreading narratives designed to erode trust in secularism, democracy and the rule of law.

The second part of the training, led by Labinot Leposhtica, from BIRN Kosovo, shifted the focus to Russian and Chinese disinformation in Kosovo.

Leposhtica emphasized the global disinformation tactics used by these foreign actors to destabilize regions and influence public opinion. He presented several cases of how Russian and Chinese narratives have infiltrated media platforms in Kosovo.

The training was designed to be more than just a theoretical discussion; participants were actively involved in discussions. They were encouraged to question the information they consume and were provided with methods to fact-check and validate sources.

In addition to combating disinformation, the session underscored the importance of promoting a free and independent media in Kosovo. Perteshi and Leposhtica emphasized the need for ongoing vigilance, especially as foreign actors continue to exploit digital platforms to spread misleading information.

Students underlined that the need for these trainings is critical, as they are increasingly exposed to disinformation from various media channels. Such sessions help equip them with the skills to critically analyze information, identify false narratives and understand the strategies used by foreign and radical actors to manipulate public opinion.

BIRN Albania Holds Roundtable on Local Government

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania on September 17 held a roundtable in Tirana on local government with journalists and experts from civil society organisations.

Two dozen reporters and civil society activists discussed corruption, impunity and abuse of office in local government in Albania.

The roundtable was moderated by Rigels Xhemollari, executive director of Qendresa Qytetare, a civil society watchdog group of active young professionals.

The roundtable, which was supported by the Swedish International Development Agency, SIDA, aims to strengthen ties between investigative journalists and civil society and inform an upcoming call for investigative grants for mid-career reporters.

The call will fund reporting grants for journalists that investigate corruption and abuse of office in local government, with a particular focus on the topics highlighted during the roundtable.

Topics discussed during the roundtable included:

The lack of implementation of integrity and anti-corruption plans, particularly on the elements of ethics and conflict of interests in municipalities and municipal councils.
Nepotism and clientelism in the human resources of municipalities
Transparency of budgets, public procurement procedures and public contracts awarded by municipalities
The appointment of people with a criminal background to public inspectorates and their role during elections
Corruption with waste management contracts
Lack of budgets to address children in street situations
The lack of representation of rural areas at municipal level
Lack of sewage and sewage treatment plants
Problems of urban development, building criteria, parking, garbage bins, etc
Corruption cases in the treatment of solid waste

The roundtable will inform BIRN Albania’s upcoming call for investigative reports on local government.

Call for Journalists and Researchers on Electoral Integrity and Political Discourse in Albania

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania (BIRN Albania) is announcing an open call for applications, offering grants to local journalists and researchers to produce in-depth articles on electoral integrity and political discourse in Albania.

BIRN is offering three grants for journalists and researchers to cover their expenses while conducting investigations and writing stories on topics related to electoral integrity and political discourse in Albania, as well as mentoring by experienced editors.

The call is part of the project “Evidence-Based Monitoring of Local Public Spending during Electoral Processes”, co-funded by the European Union and implemented by Qëndresa Qytetare in partnership with BIRN Albania.

The project aims to contribute to the enhancement of integrity, transparency and equal competition in Albania’s electoral processes by addressing some of the fundamental challenges and deficiencies, particularly those in relation to:

Misuse of public funds and public administration in relation to electoral processes;
Electoral crimes and the work of law enforcement bodies;
The impact of elections on the public administration and its politicization;
Transparency of political parties’ finances during election campaigns;
Involvement of persons with a criminal past in political parties and electoral processes;
Misuse of digital/social media or Artificial Intelligence and prevalence of hate speech in the political discourse;
Barriers encountered by women and youth toward political participation, etc.

The awarded journalists and researchers will receive a scholarship of 1,500 euros gross (minus personal income tax). They will have around three to five months to dig deeper and research their ideas. They will also have the opportunity to work with experienced editors as mentors to guide them through the process of writing in accordance with BIRN standards.

We encourage the submission of proposals for the production of relevant journalistic content by individuals or teams. We support various forms, including investigations, data-rich stories and papers.

The call only applies to journalists and researchers from Albania with previous experience on this topic.

All applicants must be independent and free from conflicts of interest in the responsibilities they undertake.

Applicants may submit more than one application, but only one proposal per candidate will be selected.

Interested candidates should send their proposals in Albanian language by email to: [email protected], including: completed application form (Click here to download the form); a CV and two examples of their previous work.

Application Deadline: September 23, 2024.

Meet the Mentors Strengthening Albania’s Media Landscape: Aleksandra Bogdani

Aleksandra Bogdani is an investigative journalist for BIRN Albania. She has more than 20 years of experience as deputy editor-in-chief of daily newspapers in several newsrooms in Albania.

She is a lecturer in Investigative Journalism at the Department of Journalism and Communication at the University of Tirana. Aleksandra won the first prize of the EU Investigative Journalism Award in 2014 and the CEI-SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism in 2015.

She’s also a mentor in the Western Balkans Media for Change project and has been involved as a mentor in the project Media for All. Find out more about this important role in strengthening Albania’s media landscape.

1. What type of support do you offer to media outlets?

Engaged Citizens Reporting (ECR) is an innovative approach to journalism in the Balkans, particularly in terms of involving women, youth, and vulnerable communities. Our role as mentors is to offer our support and expertise to media organisations implementing this method. Specifically, we collaborate with media outlets to develop their activity plans, select topics, prepare callouts and questionnaires, distribute and promote calls, analyse data and content production.

2. What does the mentorship process look like?

We prefer to start the process with an open meeting with editors and journalists from the media outlets to jointly assess their editorial capacities and needs concerning the projects they wish to undertake. In my experience, open discussion helps establish a trustful relationship between us. Based on these needs, we develop individual mentoring plans for each media outlet, focusing on the exchange of knowledge and expertise that BIRN has built over the years concerning ECR. The process then includes continuous communication through both face-to-face and online meetings throughout all phases, from topic selection to story publication.

3. In your opinion, what are the biggest successes and results achieved through this type of mentorship?

The greatest success in this process has been engaging diverse individuals and communities to produce high-quality journalistic content on topics that genuinely interest these communities. Through this method, partner media outlets have given a voice to the challenges faced by women and youth in entrepreneurship, patients with severe illnesses, parents of children and adolescents struggling with bullying, and vulnerable communities that are often overlooked in the fast-paced news cycle driven by politics and click-driven needs. Another advantage is the strengthening of ties between media outlets and these communities, which enhances their credibility and impact.

4. What are the reactions you receive from the supported media outlets through this process?

The media outlets we are currently mentoring have been surprised by both the number of individuals engaged through ECR and the quality of the information received from them. This has not only supported their reporting, but, in some cases, has turned them into reference point for other media outlets in the country.

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.

BIRN Webinar: Addressing Biometric Surveillance Issues in Europe

Join us for a webinar on September 24, 2024, at 1:00 PM CET, where experts will delve into the pressing issues surrounding biometric surveillance in Europe. This event will offer valuable insights into the current legal landscape, practical tools for advocacy, and the role of journalism in shaping public discourse.

Sign up here to attend the webinar.

Date: September 24, 2024
Time: 1:00 PM CET

Featured Speakers:

Ella Jakubowska, EDRi’s Head of Policy
Ella Jakubowska will provide an in-depth analysis of the AI Act, focusing on:

- Key provisions of the AI Act
- Identifying its limitations and gaps
- Existing legal protections against biometric surveillance
- Practical guidance for opposing biometric surveillance, including legal tools and strategies for engaging with policymakers and collaborating with civil society.

Apostolis Fotiadis, Investigations Editor at BIRN
Apostolis Fotiadis will share his expertise on impactful reporting related to biometric surveillance. His presentation will cover:

- Effective strategies for reporting on biometric surveillance
- Insights from his investigations, including major EU surveillance programs and their implications.

Registration:

Sign up here to attend the webinar.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with leading experts on biometric surveillance. Applications are open until September 20, 2024.

The webinar is a must-attend for policymakers, journalists, civil society members, and anyone concerned with the implications of biometric surveillance.

Reporting Digital Rights and Freedoms – Sub-Grants 2024

Empowering Journalism in the Digital Age – Enhancing digital safety and capacities of media and CSOs in the Western Balkans.

Call for Applications Open

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) is announcing an open call for Digital Rights and Freedoms sub-grants 2024. The call is open for media and civil society organisations from the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) which are already researching and reporting on, or have an interest in getting dedicated to, digital rights and freedoms and their respective violations occurring throughout the region, or which are impacted by global internet governance developments through their scope of work.

Awarded media and CSOs will gain an opportunity to collaborate closely with BIRN editors and our specialized digital rights team as well as to benefit from technical assistance throughout the grant duration.

Awardees will also have the opportunity to publish their work on some of BIRN’s regional platforms, such as Balkan Insight and local BIRN flagship media, which will enable them to inform and engage a wide regional audience.

Grants Overview

Digital rights and freedoms are under increasing threat, including in the Western Balkans. There is a growing need for as many responsible media and engaged CSOs as possible to become more informed and vigilant and explore internet-related topics more broadly from a multistakeholder perspective and in an in-depth manner. The digital world that we live in offers us new dimensions to exercise our freedoms. At the same time, those freedoms online are shrinking both online and offline as a result of invasive and restrictive policies, or misuse of technological developments.

This BIRN grant aims to help and engage media and CSOs with financial support, mentoring and continuous technical assistance so they can navigate, explore and deliver complex internet and human rights-related issues and (policy) developments to the public at large.

What We Offer

Grants of up to EUR 15,000 for media and civil society organisations to support up to twelve (12) months of activities, including but not limited to written content (research, investigations, analyses), audio-visual content, policy papers and reports, focused on in-depth coverage related to digital rights and freedoms in the Western Balkans region
Continuous support of the BIRN technical assistance and specialized digital rights team

Who Can Apply?

Media and civil society organisations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Application Process

To apply for Digital Rights and Freedoms sub-grants 2024, please download the Grant Proposal Application Form and Budget proposal sheet.

Download the Guidelines for application as well.

The following documents need to be sent to [email protected] with the subject email “BIRN RDRF sub-grant application 2024”

Grant proposal application (in PDF format)
Budget proposal (in excel format)
Supporting documents: certificate of registration, fiscal number certificate, business registry document if applicable, registration with the tax administration, bank account information, membership of press council if applicable, or list of relevant references for implemented projects (attached in the email in ZIP format)

*please note that we will not accept documents sent via any cloud platforms (for e.g. WeTransfer)

All selected grantees will sign a grant contract with BIRN, aimed at affirming the authenticity of your proposal application and your commitment to the ethical standards.

Submission Deadline: September 19, 2024

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on:

Relevance and significance of the proposed activities
Feasibility, originality and potential impact of the proposed application
Financial quality of the offer towards activity
Team potential and previous experience

A committee established by BIRN’s digital rights experts, editors and project management staff will review the proposals.

Contact Us

For more information and to submit your application, please use [email protected].

Join us in our mission to defend digital rights and freedoms. Apply for the “Digital Rights and Freedoms grants 2024!