Tag: Albania

Edmond Hoxhaj was recognised for a series of stories based on Freedom of Information requests that uncovered the secret sponsor behind the Independent Qualification Commission, KPK, a key body in Albania’s judicial vetting process. They were published by Reporter.al.

His investigations shed light on hidden funding links and raised questions about transparency in one of the country’s most critical justice reform institutions.

Vladimir Karaj received the same award for his investigation “Si në burg: Punëtorët afrikanë përballen me privim lirie dhe shfrytëzim në Shqipëri” (“Like Prison’: How African Migrant Workers Suffer Exploitation in Albania”), also published by Reporter.al

The story exposed cases of forced labour and human rights violations against African workers brought to Albania under exploitative conditions, drawing national and international attention to the abuse of migrant labour.

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism celebrates exceptional reporting that serves the public interest, strengthens accountability, and upholds media freedom across the Western Balkans and Türkiye. The award is part of the European Union’s ongoing support for independent journalism and investigative reporting in the region.

The programme offers plenary sessions, panel discussions and workshops aimed at empowering, educating and contributing to greater engagement in the field of digital rights in the Western Balkans. This marks the third year of the IFM organised as part of the Reporting Digital Rights and Freedoms project.

The documentary is competing in the International Documentary Film Competition category.

With the 2025 theme “Roads to Freedom,” this Polish festival has, for years, been dedicated to cinema exploring history, freedom, and post-communist and post-dictatorial realities, becoming an international hub for this film genre.

The festival has a unique character, filling a thematic gap compared to major festivals by giving voice to “unwritten” experiences and personal stories of freedom, resistance, identity, internment, and memory.

Over the five days of this year’s edition, around 100 documentary and feature films are expected to be screened.

The short documentary “Painting in the Darkness,” directed by Elton Baxhaku, with screenplay by BIRN Albania journalist Blerina Gjoka, focuses on the story of Lulzim Beqiri, a painter imprisoned during the communist era because his art did not conform to the ruling party’s ideology.

Beqiri was arrested in February 1977 for “agitation and propaganda,” and his paintings were used against him in court as evidence of his opposition to the communist regime. Around 40 canvases he painted in 1976 were confiscated by the authorities.

Forty-six years later, Beqiri was able to recover two of his works thanks to Astrit Jegeni, an archive employee who had saved them.

The festival is organized by the organization “Culture Stage” and the city of Gdynia and supported financially by the Ministry of Culture and the Polish Institute of Film.

The training, which focused on OSINT and fact-checking, was designed to strengthen resilience against disinformation and brought together 22 journalists from various broadcast and online media outlets.

Michael Colborne, an experienced trainer, journalist and OSINT practitioner with Bellingcat, introduced participants to the fundamentals of open-source research and journalism. His sessions covered digital footprint tracing, passive or pseudonymous investigation, in-depth research on social networks such as Telegram and Instagram, and the use of facial recognition tools.

Milica Stojanovic, an experienced fact-checker and journalist with BIRN Hub, trained participants on how Balkan Insight has made rigorous fact-checking an integral part of its investigative journalism. She also shared methods for verifying third-party content and discussed the use of artificial intelligence in fact-checking.

The training was conducted as part of the project “Strengthening Albania’s Information Environment: Countering Disinformation and Enhancing Institutional Resilience”, supported by the British Embassy in Albania.

As a follow-up, participating journalists will be mentored and supported by BIRN to produce OSINT-based investigative stories.

 

BIRN Albania launched a call for investigative stories on September 15, offering grants to three journalists to produce articles on Albania’s public and private environmental systems.

This call is organized as part of the project “Promoting Accountability through Investigative Journalism,” supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The project aims to build bridges between journalists and civil society to jointly strengthen the fight against corruption and impunity through investigative journalism, with particular focus on:

• The environmental impact of energy generation projects, particularly photovoltaic panels and wind turbines;
• The management of water resources and rivers;
• The cumulative assessment of development projects in protected areas;
• Waste management and the overlapping responsibilities for impact assessment among local institutions and government;
• Climate change and its effects on agriculture and human health;
• The costs and potential benefits of alignment with EU environmental legislation;
• Biodiversity and the preservation of natural habitats;
• Urbanization and its impact on the environment;
• Air management and industrial pollution;
• The impact of mass tourism on protected areas;
• Green transport policies and sustainable mobility;
• Food security and sustainable agriculture.

Selected journalists will have 3-4 months to investigate their chosen topics, conduct in-depth research, and produce high-quality articles that highlight the challenges and dynamics of Albania’s environmental systems.

The call only applies to journalists from Albania and closes on October 05, 2025.

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

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

Twenty-two journalists and civil society activists participated in the discussion on corruption in Albania’s environmental sector.

The roundtable was moderated by Besjana Guri, executive director of the LUMI Center and the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize winner for Europe.

The event was organized as part of the project “Promoting Accountability through Investigative Journalism,” supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The project aims to build bridges between journalists and civil society to jointly strengthen the fight against corruption and impunity through investigative journalism.

Key topics discussed included the environmental impact of energy generation projects—particularly photovoltaic and wind turbines; the management of water resources and rivers; the cumulative evaluation of development projects on protected areas; waste management and overlapping impact-assessment responsibilities among local institutions and government; climate change and its effects on agriculture and human health; and the costs and potential benefits of aligning with EU environmental legislation.

Insights from the roundtable will inform an upcoming call for investigative grants for mid-career reporters. The call will provide three reporting grants for journalists investigating corruption and abuse of office in Albania’s environmental sector.

BIRN is offering up to three grants for journalists 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 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 features.

The call only applies to journalists 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: August 18, 2025.

As part of this project, six civil society organisations and non-profit media outlets received grants that aim to strengthen media freedom, resilience and professional reporting.

Sessions focused on key aspects of the project management, such as monitoring and evaluation, record keeping, narrative and financial reporting procedures, and visibility standards.

The organisations were grantees of the second phase of an EU-funded project called ‘Strengthening Media Freedom, Professionalism and Journalists’ Safety in Albania’.

The project was launched in January 2024 and is being implemented by BIRN Albania, in partnership with the Center for Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) and the Faktoje Center, both also based in Albania. Its goal is to strengthen the resilience of local media and journalists to provide independent, fact-based information in order to aid people’s understanding and inform participation in public debate.

The sub-grantees will later receive training on fact-checking provided by Faktoje, and on digital security and safety of journalists provided by SCiDEV. Each training session will be followed by on-the-job mentoring.

Held on April 4-5, in Golem, the event, titled “Electoral Challenges and Media Coverage of the 2025 Parliamentary Elections,” provided an open forum for dialogue between 40 journalists and senior CEC officials, including Commissioner Ilirjan Celibashi.

Sessions focused on key topics, such as the procedures for members of the diaspora to vote, the legal framework for verifying candidates and the role of media in ensuring transparency of candidate lists. Discussions also highlighted how journalists can contribute to promoting informed political participation and meaningful coverage during the campaign.

Another focus was on the financing of electoral campaigns, including political advertising on social media, the transparency of donations and applicable legal obligations. Journalists explored the challenges of monitoring online campaigning and discussed the tools available for financial transparency.

The roundtable also included a review of the progress made by Albanian institutions in addressing OSCE/ODIHR recommendations on media conduct, electoral administration and voter education, especially concerning marginalized groups and diaspora communities.

“Open dialogue with the media is crucial for ensuring transparency and trust in the electoral process,” Commissioner Celibashi said. “Through these discussions, we aim to strengthen collaboration and promote a fair and informed campaign environment.”

This activity was supported by the British embassy in Tirana and forms part of BIRN Albania’s ongoing efforts to enhance cooperation between electoral institutions and the media sector, particularly in the lead-up to major elections.

This evaluation will play a crucial role in guiding the organisation’s future strategic planning and in assessing the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and overall impact of BIRN Albania’s work over the past five years. Special consideration will also be given to the Sida core support modality and how it has influenced the organisation’s operations and results.

About the Assignment

The evaluation will be conducted remotely, with one required field mission to Tirana. The contract will span a maximum of 20 working days and the available budget for the assignment is up to 6,000 euros (excluding travel and accommodation, which will be covered separately by BIRN Albania).

The deadline for applications is April 30, 2025.

Scope and Objectives

The selected evaluator(s) will be tasked with reviewing BIRN Albania’s progress toward its strategic objectives, which include:

• Ensuring increased public access to accurate information;
• Enhancing citizens’ influence on democratic processes;
• Supporting people in claiming their rights;
• Strengthening the organisation’s internal capacities.

The evaluation process will involve a review of programme documentation, interviews with key stakeholders, analysis of monitoring and evaluation data and field research. The approach must adhere to OECD/DAC evaluation criteria and be guided by a participatory and utilisation-focused methodology.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of evaluation experience, preferably in media, civil society, or governance-related fields
• Proven expertise in assessing programmes related to investigative journalism, freedom of expression, or democratic development
• Familiarity with the Albanian and/or Balkan context
• Excellent English writing and communication skills (knowledge of Albanian is an asset)
• Understanding of OECD/DAC standards and development evaluation methodologies

How to Apply

Interested candidates or teams should submit the following documents by April 30, 2025 to [email protected] with the subject line: Application – External Evaluation BIRN Albania Strategy 2021–2025:

• Letter of Interest
• Technical proposal (max. 2 pages)
• Financial proposal (in euros)
• CV(s) of the expert(s)
• Contact details of two references

To read the full Terms of Reference, click here.

Twenty journalists working for national media who cover law enforcement and the judiciary attended.

The programme included presentations from BIRN Albania editors on the support this organisation provides to journalists at both local and regional levels, to create an enabling environment for quality and investigative journalism.

The journalists shared story ideas with the editors on potential investigations, in-depth reporting on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference in elections, and other topics.

Jelena Zorić, a prominent investigative journalist from Serbia, presented case studies on cross-border stories at the intersection of organised crime and politics, highlighting successful techniques, safety tips and strategies for building reliable sources.

The training was held as part of BIRN Albania’s project, “Building Resilience Against SOC in Albania Through Investigative Journalism,” supported by the British embassy in Albania.