Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
Neil joined BIRN in 2019 as an editor.
He edits the Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence, BIRN’s annual bursary for long-form journalism. He previously worked for the BBC News website’s world desk, and for flagship BBC radio and TV programmes.
He also spent two years in Iraq as an editor on media development programmes. His reporting from Iraq, the Balkans and the Caucasus has been published by the Financial Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Monocle and BBC News. He graduated in English Literature from Cambridge University.
Svetoslav Todorov joined BIRN Hub as a Balkan Insight’s Bulgaria correspondent in 2020, right before the onset of the pandemic and the beginning of the anti-government protest wave in Bulgaria.
The increase of disinformation in Bulgaria amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and recurring ideological clashes in parliament are integral topics to his work. He is based in Sofia.
Todorov’s original background is in arts and culture writing, while also covering topics dealing with history, education and human rights.
In Bulgaria, he wrote and edited for the news website Dnevnik.bg (2010-2014), the business and politics weekly Capital (from 2014 onwards), independent magazine VIJ (from 2016 onwards), and has also contributed to international outlets such as Romanian fact-checking platform Veridica, the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, and the Bulgarian branches of Granta magazine and Esquire.
Todorov has experience also as an art curator and speaker at events organised by the Sofia International Literature Festival, the Rhodope Documentary Film Festival and Romania’s Alternativa Sociale.
He graduated in Bulgarian Philology and Visual Culture from Sofia University’s Faculty of Slavic Studies. Alongside Bulgarian, he is fluent in English and French.
Based in Belgrade, Igor started working for BIRN in 2020.
He has a diverse skill set in illustration, graphic design, animation and video production. With a background in design from high school and the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, Igor has honed his creative abilities to bring ideas to life through visual storytelling.
Balkan Insight’s biggest investigative and long-form stories have his visual signature. His style has formed Balkan Insight’s unique visual identity.
Igor prefers to illustrate investigative stories, as they are more personal and include a human factor, unlike global news stories.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Igor finds joy in family life as a dedicated father and husband. In his free time, he indulges in passions for custom keyboards, Studio Ghibli movies and music, adding depth and inspiration to his creative endeavours. With a blend of artistic talent and personal interests, Igor continues to explore new horizons and share his unique perspective with the world.
Danijela joined BIRN Hub in December 2023 as a Social Media Manager.
She is based in BIRN Hub’s Belgrade office and is responsible for developing, quality control, and implementing program-related and overall BIRN visibility actions, using social media channels.
Danijela is an experienced Communications Specialist with a strong background in nonprofit and social organisations and foundations.
With over 14 years of experience, she is skilled in content writing, copywriting, social media management, digital marketing, and event management.
Thanks to various courses and education, along with experience, she has a high level of knowledge and experience of working on different digital tools, platforms and programs.
Previously, she mostly worked in the nonprofit sector in communication and digital marketing, and in social media positions. Some of her favourite experiences were at Foundation SOS Children’s Villages Serbia and Foundation Catalyst Balkans.
Danijela graduated in Journalism and Communications from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade.
In addition to her formal education, she finished the Alternative Gender Studies Program at the Center for Gender Studies in Belgrade and attended various courses and education related to PR, marketing, communications and digital marketing.
Along with Serbian, she speaks English.
Katarina joined BIRN Hub in December 2023 as a correspondent for Serbia. She is based in Belgrade and is responsible for daily news as well as in-depth stories and analysis.
Previously she worked in media in Serbia and has extensive experience reporting on the economy and politics.
From March 2021 to November 2023 she worked at the monthly magazine and portal Nova Ekonomija (New Economy), primarily reporting on economic topics, healthcare, gender issues and public spending. Before that, from 2016, she was working at Istinomer, a fact-checking media outlet founded by the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA).
She was part of the team the British Council awarded for one of the best article and video features in the regional “Young Journalists Competition”, and also awarded for the best media article “Drugačije od drugih“ (Different from others) by the Conference of Towns and Municipalities, for the best article on female entrepreneurs.
Katarina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Communication from the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade and is currently she is at the end of her Gender Master studies at the same faculty.
Along with her native Serbian, she speaks English.
Based in Prague, Jules has joined BIRN Hub in December 2023 as Reporting Democracy’s Czechia correspondent.
He previously co-founded and worked as editor-in-chief of Kafkadesk, a news and analysis website on Central Europe, and has contributed to various other English and French-language media outlets covering Czech and Slovak affairs.
A former student of Charles University in Prague, Jules is a public affairs and political science graduate from Sciences-Po Paris. Raised in a bicultural French-British family, he also speaks German, Spanish and Czech.
Based in Belgrade, Aleksandra joined BIRN in October 2023 as a Communications Manager. Her main responsibilities include developing and implementing communications strategies and work plans, designing promotional campaigns, and working closely with the programme departments, social media team and editorial team to ensure its content reaches target audiences.
Previously, Aleksandra worked as a journalist and a Social Media manager and has extensive experience in journalism, communications and Social Media.
For three years, she worked at the EU Info Centre in Belgrade as a Social Media Officer and was responsible for the EU Delegation’s SM accounts, amongst other things. During this period, she also gained valuable experience in project communications.
She has been awarded by the Serbian Public Relations Society and the 2020 EU Delegation to Serbia for the campaign “They Are Heroes”.
Aleksandra studied at the Faculty of Political Sciences, at the University of Belgrade. Her major was Journalism and Communications. Also, she has an MA degree in Social Policies. In addition to her formal education, she has attended various Social Media courses and seminars.
Along with her native Serbian, she speaks English.
Nino joined Detektor (BIRN BiH) in 2022 as a journalist. He is based in the Sarajevo office providing support to regional operations.
His main responsibilities include following developments related to corruption and crime at government institutions and public companies, as well as foreign malign influence. Previously, he worked in the media and NGO sector, such as the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN), Face TV Sarajevo and N1 BiH as a reporter, editor and producer and was responsible for researching, investigating and authoring complex investigative stories, covering financial misuse in public procurement and public funds.
During this period, he also gained valuable experience in investigative reporting.
His awards include “Eco Journalist” 2022 – winner; European Union Award for Investigative Journalism in BiH 2021 – second prize; European Press Prize 2021 – selected in the top five; CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism 2018 – winner; Thompson Foundation – Finalist for the Young Journalist Award, 2017 University and Languages.
Nino studied Communication and Journalism at the University of Sarajevo. His bachelor’s degree was in media and communication. In addition to his formal education, he attended various projects, courses and seminars on journalism and investigative reporting. Along with Bosnian, his mother tongue, Nino speaks English.
Nermina Kuloglija-Zolj joined BIRN BiH in August 2019. For the last four years, she has been researching extremism, terrorism, genocide denial and corruption.
She published many investigative stories about far-right groups in Bosnia and the Western Balkans, following the activities of at least five far-right groups operating in Bosnia. Before joining BIRN BiH, Nermina was a journalist at the Center for Investigative Reporting in Sarajevo, where she started her career in 2017, first as an intern, then as a journalist, focusing on researching corruption and organized crime.
Awards
In 2021, she was given a special mention by the judges of the CEI SEEMO journalism awards for outstanding merits in investigative journalism. That same year, she was a finalist for the Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism.
She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo.
Enes joined BIRN BiH in May 2022 as a journalist/investigator. He is based in BIRN BiH’s Sarajevo office providing support to various projects.
He works as an investigative journalist and specialist court monitor. Since joining the team, he has contributed to various investigative pieces related to far-right extremism. During the past year, he has done several researches into harmful foreign influences in the Balkans and cyber security, including the first report on cyber security threats in BiH, which BIRN BiH presented in cooperation with CSEC.
Some of his investigative pieces, which were high on the media radar, were: “Bosnian Entity Road Company Ignores Sanctions, Promotes Gazprom Petrol Stations” – “Detektor, BiH ranjiva na cyber napade zbog nedostatka ključnih dokumenata” – “Detektor and “Kako su dvije desničarske organizacije spriječile mirnu šetnju povodom Dana bijelih traka u Prijedoru”.
He authored the first Detektor Magazine episode on cyber security, “Građani i institucije i dalje bez zaštite od cyber napada”, and co-authored an episode of the TV Justice show about the online monetization of hatred flourishing in Bosnia and Serbia.
Apart from journalism, he has high interest in technology and (cyber)security.
Previous Experience
Previously, he worked in various media outlets in Bosnia and gained extensive experience in journalism and investigative work, administration, financial and operational work.
Since 2012, he worked at the media outlets Visoko.co.ba, Radio Sarajevo and Federation Television as journalist and editor and was responsible for various projects and contents in those outlets.
He also worked as a project manager at VICOBA d.o.o., working on various media projects, including the Engaged Citizens Reporting project.
During this period, he also gained valuable experience in office management, project operations, field investigations, social media management and use of different digital tools needed for the jobs listed above.
Awards
He received an award for continuous reporting and contribution to witnessing the truth about the genocide in Srebrenica at the “Nino Catic” Journalist Award event in 2020.
University and Languages
Enes studied communication science at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Sarajevo. His major was in communication sciences, journalism, PR and marketing. In addition to formal education, he has attended various project related and journalism courses/seminars. Along with Bosnian he speaks English.
