BIRN Kosovo News and Events

BIRN’s Life in Kosovo television show, in its 23 February edition, will look at how key texts published by Kosovo academics and scholars plagiarise others’ work.

With recent cases exposing how medical professors published books passing off the work of foreign authors as their own, the debate will also address more general concerns about the quality of studies at the Public University of Pristina.

This week’s show on Friday, February 16, features analysis and comment on developments since the February 10 protest in Pristina.

Two people died and over 80 were injured in the violent protest against the UN proposal for Kosovo’s final status organised by the Vetevendosje (self-determination) movement.

BIRN Kosovo staff made a number of regional and international media appearances in the last few weeks, in conjunction with the coming out of the plan for Kosovo’s final status.

BIRN Kosovo will have a live debate tonight, February 2, at 20:30 on UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for Kosovo, which will be revealed in Pristina at 16:00.

RTK, Pristina
The BIRN-organised TV show Life in Kosovo on January 26 will turn its attentions on the people who have returned to live in Kosovo.

This programme aims to raise public awareness about issues related to the return and reintegration process, looking primarily at groups of ethnic minorities living in Kosovo.

The BIRN-organised televised show Life in Kosovo will present “Whose Security?”, a documentary exploring how women in Kosovo have been affected by war and how they now perceive the notion of peace and security in their day-to-day lives.

In its special New Year’s edition, Koha Ditore, Kosovo’s daily newspaper, ran a short review of the Life in Kosovo debates, saying the show is the “most watched TV programme in Kosovo after the Latin-American soap-operas”.

A storm of comment was provoked by the BIRN-organised “Life in Kosovo” debate on Islam. Over 70 emails were sent to BIRN after the television show was aired on December 8.

Arbana Xharra, a BIRN contributor, won first prize in a journalism competition organised by Kosovo’s Anti-Corruption Agency, AKA, the UN Development Programme, UNDP, and the OSCE mission in Kosovo, on December 11.

An editorial workshop for six journalists from South Serbia was held from December 8 to 10 at the Nis Media Centre, as part of BIRN’s ongoing Minority Training and Reporting project.

Krenar Gashi, BIRN Kosovo Assistant Editor, was interviewed by the Serbian programme of Radio Free Europe on a BIRN investigation into the illegal trade in passports.

The positions of the American, Russian and French governments on Kosovo’s final status will be featured in a special edition of the BIRN-organised RTK programme “Life in Kosovo” tonight, Friday, November 10, at 20.20. The show will feature interviews BIRN Kosovo director Jetta Xharra conducted with Richard Holbrooke, the ex-US envoy to the region; and Frank Wisner, Andrei Dronov and Thierry Reynard, the current US, Russian and French envoys in Kosovo, respectively.

The second BIRN-organised RTK debate on cultural topics dealt with local festivals.

Since 1999, a number of cultural festivals have been organised, most of them traditional. Organisers’ main complaint is lack of funds.

BIRN Serbia organised two-day editorial workshop for Serb and Bosniak journalists living in Kosovo on August 27 and 28.

In the space of five days, four bombs went off in Kosovo, three targeting senior members of the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, the biggest political party here.

RTK, Pristina, September 22, 2006