Category: Programmes

Summary:

Human rights violations in fragile, illiberal democracies differ in type, nature, scope and target, while with the fast-changing world of technology, the limitations of human rights became omnipresent in the digital environment. Journalists, officials and the public face vicious attacks – including verbal abuse, trolling, smear campaigns and undue pressure to retract content – in response to publishing information online. Ongoing tensions and cultural controversies from the “physical sphere” are simply migrating to an “online reality”, while prevention or protection mechanisms are far from successful, and the accountability of online actors, including states and big tech companies, is limited.

The only systematic mapping and reporting of (mis)use of technology for human rights violations in the Western Balkans was carried out by BIRN, which started it during the COVID-19 pandemic. From August 2021 to August 2022, BIRN recorded over 700 cases of digital rights violations in eight Southeast European countries. Similarly, political and religious tensions, which continue to mark our societies’ cultural and political life, also surged, causing further polarization. Unsurprisingly, the two most common violations in the past year were “pressure because of expression and activities on the internet” and “manipulation and propaganda in the digital environment”. Journalists were most frequently the targets of online threats in many countries, with numerous smear campaigns against independent journalists.

For the reasons above, through a comprehensive approach, involving sub-granting, capacity-building, publication and promotion of media content and monitoring reports, relevant institutions on local, regional and EU levels will be strengthened to better address policy recommendations and act on them. Finally, action will work on improving the capacities of journalists and organizations by providing mentorship, editorial guidance, legal and grant support to increase policy and advocacy efforts, and equip target groups with the skills to track and respond to digital rights violations.

Donor:

European Union

Main Objectives:

Overall Objective: Contribute to enhancing the knowledge and skills of media and civil society to methodically decipher the intersections between digital rights violations and disinformation, assert the right to information and respond to abuses in the digital sphere.

Specific Objectives:

• Determine the patterns in digital freedoms violations in the targeted region that will serve as a basis for developing protection and prevention mechanisms, policy recommendations and legal framework improvements;
• Better informed societies on current digital freedom violations and raised awareness of critical threats in digital ecosystems;
• Enhanced digital safety, and increased media and civil society capacities to respond to digital threats through training, workshops and grants;
• Increased engagement in internet governance by men, women and young people through specialised software, an engaged citizens reporting tool, meet-ups and conferences.

Main activities:

• Conduct monitoring of digital rights breaches, recording about 1,500 cases and constant updating of the databases
• Develop a digital media policy hub
• Produce three research papers and three annual reports, mapping the main actors in digital disruption
• Present the cross-regional report and overall project impact through one regional conference and three online events for the research papers
• Develop five recommendation sets, one per monitored country, and distributing them to the respective decision-makers
• Hold (at least 15) meetings at national, regional, EU and international level to advance digital rights policies based on monitoring findings
• Develop and Deploy a Digital Service Tracker
• Produce at least 500 stories in English and local language for online, print and TV
• Ensure at least 500 are published by other media nationally, regionally and internationally
• Design and run an awareness raising and promotional campaign, reaching 20 million people
• Deliver six (6) national training sessions for reporting on digital rights violations for about 60 journalists from media in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo
• Organize three (3) regional Internet Freedom camps, which will bring together about 30 journalists, researchers, media/freedom of speech lawyers, fact checkers, academia, youth, activists and tech enthusiasts
• Provide technical assistance to 100 journalists and CSOs as hands-on support on some of the key challenges identified so far
• On-the-job mentoring and financial support to 30 local journalists and 10 local media outlets in the form of fellowship for stories
• Award 15 sub-grants to media and CSOs
• Raise the awareness of about 3,000 citizens on how to use specialized software to report on digital environment challenges
• Organize 12 meet-ups with local communities in the respective countries

Target Groups:

Journalists, media outlets, policy makers, general digital policy forums and citizens.

Main Implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

Partners:

BIRN HUB, BIRN offices in Albania, BiH, Serbia, and North Macedonia

In the frame of this project, which is a continuation of the Italian MFA-funded project “Media Strengthening the Rule of Law in Kosovo”, BIRN Kosova will implement activities such as monitoring and analysing court hearings on corruption and terrorism cases, and writing and publishing articles to increase public awareness and institutional facilitation of education and training programs for convicted fighters returned from war zones.

Summary:

The judicial system in Kosovo has made tremendous improvements to its work and management. However, challenges remain, especially when it concerns the transparency and accountability of judicial institutions. These lack an open approach towards citizens; protracted court proceedings, unskilled judges and ongoing struggles with backlogs of cases make for an inefficient system that does not deliver to citizens.

BIRN has identified a number of shortcomings in the justice system’s handling of corruption cases, including frequent postponements of court hearings, overdue processes, sentences that do not align with penal policy, changes of witness statements and the evaluation of evidence in a selective manner.

Some of the challenges identified during the monitoring of cases of terrorism and violent extremism include lack of a clear punitive policy when it comes to the resolution of these cases, lack of a vision as to whether or not punishments help in the resocialization process of returnees, and a lack of supplementary and conditional punishments which would condition convicts to follow educational and training programs while they remain incarcerated, etc.

The project aims to ensure the transparency of the judicial system, promoting the rule of law and representing the public interest by monitoring court hearings on corruption and terrorism, as well as providing institutions with follow-up recommendations, promoting accountability and raising awareness by accurately informing the public on the respective court cases with regard to corruption and terrorism.

It also aims to inform the public of the importance of education and training programs for the resocialization of convicted fighters returned from war zones, while also contributing to increased demand from respective institutions to implement such programs.

Donor:

Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian Embassy in Pristina

Main Objectives:

Objective 1: Increase public demand for delivering rule of law commitments by Kosovo’s judicial institutions, including the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of cases of corruption, terrorism and violent extremism.

Objective 2: : Increase the responsiveness of judicial institutions implementing their rule of law commitments owed to the citizenry of Kosovo.

Objective 3: Increase public awareness and institutional facilitation of education and training programs for convicted fighters returned from war zones.

Main Activities:

1. Monitoring at least 20 court hearings related to cases of corruption
2. Monitoring at least 10 court hearings related to cases of terrorism and extremism
3. Participating in meetings with the drafting committee to follow up recommendations
4. Publishing 30 short news items based on the monitoring of 50 court hearings on corruption terrorism and extremism
5. Publishing an analytical report based on the findings of the monitoring of cases of corruption, terrorism and extremism
6. Broadcasting one (1) TV program based on the findings of monitoring related to cases of corruption, terrorism and extremism
7. Monitoring five (5) cases in which the parole panel has released people convicted of terrorism-related charges prematurely
8. Monitoring five (5) cases related to terrorism and extremism to ascertain the success rate of the resocialization process
9. Publishing an analytical report based on the findings on the monitoring of the above-mentioned cases

Target Groups:

• Public officials of Justice institutions of Kosovo
• Returnees from war zones
• Citizens of Kosovo

Main implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

Summary:

In 2021, through public procurement, 160 different institutions in Kosovo signed 9,892 contracts worth over €429.6 million. The main source of funding for public tenders was the state budget, which accounted for about 80 per cent of them. The value of the signed contracts was about 17 per cent of Kosovo’s total budget. The European Commission’s 2022 report on Kosovo said the country remains in the early stages of preparation for the fight against corruption. Yet there is little media coverage of irregularities in public procurement procedures, even though it is one of the fields most vulnerable to corruption.

Local media in Kosovo mostly stay in their comfort zones, using traditional reporting methods and resisting adaptation to new technological trends. Most local journalists continue to engage almost exclusively in protocol journalism and reporting from events rather than conducting publicly beneficial or investigative journalism.

A lack of subject specialisation also hinders journalists. A report published by the National Democratic Institute in July 2022 said limited resources at news outlets mean journalists are obliged to cover a wide range of topics and areas, often without knowledge or expertise. A journalist might cover the economy and national security one week and justice affairs the following week. International reports and journalists in Kosovo have identified the overextension of journalists as a significant challenge to their professionalism.

The project “Contribute to Strengthening Independent, Investigative and Publicly Beneficial Journalism and Freedom of Expression in Kosovo”, which BIRN implemented in 2018-20, mentored and financed 20 individual journalists through fellowships. A sub-granting scheme also provided support to 48 grantees, including 26 individual journalists (of whom 12 were women) and 22 media organisations (16 of which were based in non-majority communities).

The project’s beneficiaries produced around 440 pieces of journalism that were republished in media across Kosovo and the region, often resulting in behavioural change from authorities. In an era where Russian-produced propaganda is affecting the entire Western Balkans — a phenomenon that has intensified since the invasion of Ukraine — BIRN Kosovo will build on this previous experience to further improve the resilience of Albanian and Serbian media in Kosovo to resist fake news and fight for a journalism that does not only report on the world but fights for a better one.

The people involved in this project will be learning from the best. In 2021 alone, BIRN’s investigative journalists and camera operators won eight awards for their stories on corruption, public procurement and the environment. In its 2021 Investment Climate Statement on Kosovo, the US State Department listed BIRN as a resource for reporting corruption for the second time in a row.

BIRN Kosovo has an experienced team of editors, journalists, legal advisors, procurement and financial experts, camera operators, audio and video editors, designers and producers, who work tirelessly to produce impactful written journalism and televised programmes.

Donor:

USAID

Main Objectives:

Objective 1: Contribute to an increase in transparency and accountability from local governance institutions by producing and publishing stories on public spending abuses, institutional wrongdoings and corrupt affairs.

Objective 2: Build the capacity of journalists and journalism students in monitoring and reporting about corruption, public procurement and public expenditure.

Main Activities:

Activity 1. Draft and compile an investigative journalism handbook.

Activity 2. Organise one (1) Public Procurement School with journalists and journalism students, and publish 20 stories.

 Activity 3. Publish four (4) investigative analyses on best practice in public finances and public procurement.

 Activity 4. Organise three (3) Chatham House-style community meetings

Target Groups:

Journalism students

Journalists

Municipalities

NGOs

Institutional officials

Procurement institutions

Citizens of Kosovo

Implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

Summary:

According to the European Commission’s 2022 report, Kosovo is still in the early stages of preparation in the fight against corruption. Civil society engagement and media coverage of irregularities in public procurement procedures is limited, particularly at local level. Local media in Kosovo mostly remain within their comfort zone, utilizing traditional methods of reporting and resisting adapting to new technological trends and touching on the interests of contracting authorities or economic operators.

Even when civil society or the media do report on corruption affairs, due to limited exposure of the findings, public institutions often do not address the reported issues or take any remedial actions, especially when this reporting relates to corruption among public officials.

The phenomenon of corruption enables the powerful and the corrupt to maintain their power, acquire wealth from the state and avoid punishment. Ordinary citizens pay the price through livelihood loss, poor public services, limited opportunities and by losing trust in democracy, as they witness government institutions serve private interests. According to a Transparency International report, this happens at all levels of government in the Western Balkans, including in Kosovo – from local to national level – where chains of loyalty and mutual benefits lead officials to abuse their office and tighten the grip of a few networks on these countries.

In 2021, through public procurement, 160 different institutions in Kosovo signed 9,892 contracts worth over €429.6 million. The main source of funding for public tenders was from the state budget – about 80 per cent. The value of the signed contracts equaled about 17 per cent of the total budget of Kosovo.

Kosovo municipalities also lack civic activism and face general apathy, especially when it comes to oversight of works and services delivered by the municipalities. A limited number of citizens attend budget hearings held during the process of drafting municipal budget, which consequently sees projects being funded that do not necessarily represent the actual needs, priorities or concerns of citizens. Similar apathy is also noted in the implementation of public contracts. Few citizens possess information on details of the project, the obligations of the contractors and building standards, which in turn sees many projects lacking the desired quality, as was initially contracted. Unfortunately, this often goes unreported as media, which, when they do not have the necessary information, cannot report or demand corrections when something is wrong in the public contracts.

To respond to some of these issues, Democracy Plus, D+ and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN Kosovo, have joined efforts to design a response to the Terms of Reference. This proposal brings a triangular approach that connects direct monitoring on the ground, comprehensive thank-tank reporting based on research and media reporting to generate public pressure and response once remedial action is needed or good practices are identified in need of promotion.

D+ and BIRN Kosovo bring a combined past performance of excellence in the areas required by this ToR, a team experienced in project management, quality assurance, procurement and financial experts, with policy analysts, editors, journalists, legal advisors, camera operators, audio and video editors, designers and producers, who work to produce impactful written journalism and TV programmes.

Civil society in Kosovo often plays an important role in promoting integrity, exposing wrongdoing, providing recommendations for public institutions and fighting corruption. The vast experience of D+ and BIRN Kosovo in monitoring public procurement processes at the central and local level will ensure the success of this project.

Donor:

USAID

Main Objectives:

 Objective 1: Contribute to an increase in transparency and accountability in local government institutions by monitoring their procurement activities and publishing a report, op-ed and infographics on public spending abuses, institutional wrongdoings and corrupt affairs.

Main Activities:

Activity 1. Direct monitoring of 27 tenders at the pre-tendering, tendering and contract management phases in the municipalities of Gjakovë/Djakovica, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Lipjan/Lipljan, Pejë/Peć, Pristina, Rahovec/Orahovac, Suharekë/Suva Reka, Vushtrri/Vučitrn, and the Ministry of Health

 Activity 2. Publication of one comprehensive monitoring report generated from the direct monitoring and research

 Activity 3. Roundtable for publication of the monitoring procurement report

 Activity 4. Publication of one op-ed, and three infographics which visualize the findings

Target Groups:

Municipalities

NGOs

Institutional officials

Procurement institutions

Citizens of Kosovo

Main implementer:

Democracy Plus

Partners:

BIRN Kosovo

Summary:

In a multi-ethnic, post-conflict society, misinformation has the potential to adversely impact conditions for sustained peace and coexistence among communities and create political strife, apart from having many of the same consequences that fake news has across the globe.

The project comes at a critical time, as Kosovo witnesses an upward trend in the spread of fake news and disinformation. Media outlets lack the capacity to report on these issues and uphold professional fact-checking standards, while consumers are not well equipped to spot fake news stories and debunk them.

With this project, BIRN Kosovo will continue its work of increasing public awareness of fake news and disinformation, especially among marginalized groups such as women, the young and members of non-majority communities. Through training workshops, short videos, fact-checking articles, TV programmes and other related activities, BIRN will seek to provide objective facts and information to all Kosovo citizens, educating them on how to identify, analyse and debunk fake news misinformation and disinformation.

Donor:

UNMIK

Main Objectives:

Objective 1: enhance media literacy: Youth across Kosovo will gain necessary knowledge of fact-checking and accurate reporting, subjects fundamental to journalistic ethics and skill development, which otherwise have no formal educational training.

Objective 2: increase public awareness of fake news and disinformation relating to areas such as security, health, the economy and culture, creating more discerning consumers of news and reducing the susceptibility of local populations to misinformation and how this phenomenon affects the lives of citizens.

Objective 3: improve knowledge of people across all communities on fake news and disinformation as well as the impacts of these phenomena in society; Increase public awareness of unfolding situations through accurate, timely and objective media reporting.

Objective 4: raise awareness among Albanian and Serbian-speaking communities in Kosovo of fake news relating to inter-ethnic issues, therefore reducing inter-ethnic strife and advancing sustainable peace.

Main Activities:

1. Organise three (3) training workshops on fact-checking journalism with young journalists and students from different communities in Kosovo.
2. Produce five (5) short videos on fake news and disinformation, aimed at increasing public awareness of and public vigilance towards fake news and disinformation.
3. Screen short videos in high school across different municipalities in Kosovo.
4. Publish 60 articles that debunk fake news or misinformation circulating across various platforms in Kosovo.
5. Provide fact-checked real-time, accurate reporting during crisis situations.
6. Broadcast two (2) TV programmes on the impact of fake news on society.
7. Establish an anti-disinformation partnership with local Serbian-language media.
8. Publish ten (10) articles debunking fake news as a result of this partnership.

Target Groups:

• Members of all ethnic communities in Kosovo, particularly Albanians and Serbs
• Students and journalists of local media from different ethnic backgrounds
• Citizens of Kosovo

Main implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

Project associates:

Gracanica Online

Summary:

The Green Agenda for the Western Balkans aims to reflect the European Green Deal in a proportionate and adapted manner in the Western Balkans. The objective is to turn environmental and climate challenges, similar throughout the region, into opportunities. Given that natural resources and climate change do not know borders, the Green Agenda foresees joint actions that will contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development and green recovery of the entire region in the post-pandemic period.

Kosovo should contribute by successfully implementing this joint regional vision with a high level of ambition. Like all Western Balkans, Kosovo endorsed the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans at the Sofia Summit in November 2020. The European Green Deal demands a complete transformation of the national economy, transportation, and many more factors. As such, it also depends on a national consensus about the green future of our country.

Many activities and campaigns have been launched regarding the state of the environment in Kosovo. However, nothing seems to have made an impact in terms of raising societal awareness about the risks that the environment is facing. Yet, citizens experience environmental threats at first hand every day, starting from the denial of the basic human right of access to clean drinking water to the ongoing damage of Kosovo’s natural landscape, often through illegal business activities.

Insufficient education, unimplemented laws, weak environmental policy and media misinformation all contribute to ongoing environmental degradation. There are dozens of lawsuits against polluters in Kosovo who continue to operate without any legal intervention, mostly because they are not reported by the media or seen as important by the authorities.

This project aims to enhance implementation of the legal basis for proper environmental protection for national parks by increasing the efficiency of this mechanism through good management, conducting fact-based and specialised research on the environment, in this way informing citizens about environmental concerns and so holding relevant institutions accountable.

Donor:

National Democratic Institute (NDI)

Main Objectives:

Objective 1: advocate the revision and strengthening of the legal basis for environmental protected areas and watercourses.

Objective 2: identify and expose environmental violations and corruption related to protected areas in order to increase transparency and accountability.

Objective 3: Increase efficiency through legal frameworks and good management in order to lower the possibilities of further environmental exploitation and land deterioration.

Main Activities:

1. Establish the Coalition’s project team, hold the first coordination meeting with partner organizations, and initiate research in five different areas of environmental concern, to develop a baseline assessment of environmental violations.
2. Research on five different areas of environmental concern to develop a baseline assessment of environmental violations and hold a launch conference to raise public awareness, share research findings and promote greater government transparency and accountability.
3. Public TV debate with the purpose of raising visibility of relevant environmental issues to promote greater government transparency and accountability.
4. Roundtable discussions, draft policy briefs, and creating and designing an educational video to promote greater efficiency through legal frameworks and good management to prevent further environmental exploitation and land deterioration.
5. Two roundtable discussion and a strategic planning session with key lawmakers to discuss project findings and promote greater transparency, accountability and responsiveness in environmental governance.

Target Groups:

• Civil Society Organizations CSOs
• Media and multidisciplinary experts in the field from different ethnic backgrounds
• Kosovo parliamentary working groups on Environment and Health Concerns, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health
• Basic Court in Mitrovica
• Citizens of Kosovo

Main implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

Partners:

Democracy Plus

Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture

Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK)

Udruženje Goraždevac Media Group