Tag: Albania

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.

BIRN Albania has released a comprehensive analysis of the financial declarations of mayoral candidates during the 2023 local elections in Albania, highlighting critical gaps in transparency, compliance and accountability in electoral campaign financing.

The alternative report, “Analysis of the Financial Reports of Candidates for Local Government Units on the 2023 Election Campaign,” is crucial to understanding the financial integrity of political campaigns, identifying systemic weaknesses in financial disclosures and proposing key reforms to improve oversight.

This report builds on BIRN Albania’s previous publication on the financial reports of political subjects in the May 14, 2023 local elections, which provided a detailed analysis of campaign financing, sources of public and private funds and the spending patterns of political parties.

This new report serves as a complementary analysis, with a specific focus on the financial declarations submitted by mayoral candidates, who often manage and spend significant amounts of funds independently for their campaigns. In some cases, candidates’ personal funds or third-party contributions play a decisive role in shaping the campaign, affecting electoral competition, fairness among candidates, and the possibility of external influences on local governance.

Understanding how candidates manage their finances, both in relation to their respective political parties and as independent actors, is crucial to assessing transparency, discrepancies and potential irregularities in the financing process.

This report aims to:

• Promote Transparency: The report provides detailed insights into campaign revenues, expenditures and donor contributions, shedding light on how electoral funds are raised and spent.
• Reveal Discrepancies: Differences were found between candidate-reported finances and official audit figures, raising concerns about hidden campaign funding and regulatory inefficiencies.
• Expose Cash Dependency: With 42.49 per cent of campaign expenditures conducted in cash, the report highlights the risks of untraceable transactions, financial misreporting, and potential election finance violations.
• Underreporting in Political Ads: Social media campaign financing was significantly underreported, despite independent data indicating higher actual expenditures on platforms like Facebook and Google.

This report is intended to assist journalists, experts and stakeholders in accessing open and transparent data on political party finances, as well as to facilitate further analysis of electoral campaign costs in the country.

The financial data declared by electoral subjects and candidates will enable various domestic observer groups to validate their findings from on-the-ground monitoring and compare financial reports with publicly available data declared by the media and other credible sources on political parties’ revenues and expenditures.

Furthermore, the findings of this report aim to encourage the Central Election Commission (CEC) and other stakeholders to improve the electoral financial reporting system, the auditing process and the enforcement of sanctions in cases where reporting issues are identified.

Access the Full Report:

English Version

Albanian Version

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of Albania’s media landscape in the context of the country’s EU accession process, highlighting key challenges and areas requiring urgent reform.

Developed within the framework of the project “Strengthening Media Freedom, Professionalism, and Journalists’ Safety in Albania”, the report is based on extensive quantitative and qualitative data, including a survey conducted with local journalists, as well as in-depth research and analysis.

This initiative will continue with annual reports for 2025 and 2026, ensuring a long-term assessment of media freedom and journalist safety trends in Albania. The research has been produced in partnership with BIRN Albania, SCiDEV, and Qendra Faktoje, with financial support from the European Union.

Albania’s EU accession process has created momentum for reform but progress is hindered by systemic challenges, inconsistent policy implementation and lack of political commitment. Albania’s Rule of Law Roadmap and Roadmap for the Functioning of Democratic Institutions include provisions to strengthen media freedom and journalist safety but their implementation has been slow and ineffective.

“The EU integration process presents an opportunity for Albania to undertake meaningful reforms in the media sector. However, a ‘tick-box’ approach will not be enough – sustained political will and legal enforcement are necessary to ensure long-term progress,” the report states.

The report underscores serious threats to independent journalism in Albania, including physical threats, legal harassment, and economic instability. Key takeaways include:

• Increasing Threats and Intimidation: Journalists in Albania are frequently targeted with threats, harassment and lawsuits, contributing to self-censorship and insecurity.
• Systemic Vulnerabilities in Journalistic Work Conditions: The lack of employment contracts, low wages, informal payments and job insecurity remain key challenges, leaving media professionals vulnerable to external pressures. These conditions are exacerbated by opaque media financing and concentrated ownership, which prioritize political and commercial interests over journalistic integrity.
• Restricted Access to Information: While Albania has legal provisions guaranteeing access to public information, enforcement remains inconsistent. Journalists often face delays, refusals or bureaucratic hurdles when requesting critical information from public institutions, undermining investigative reporting.
• Gender-Specific Challenges for Women Journalists: Female journalists face additional risks, including verbal attacks, smear campaigns and online harassment, which disproportionately affect their ability to work safely and participate in the public discourse.
• Media Ownership Concentration and Lack of Transparency: The report highlights the continued dominance of a few powerful media owners, often with strong political and business ties. Despite some regulatory efforts to increase transparency, these issues remain largely unresolved.

The report calls for urgent reforms to protect media freedom and journalistic safety, including: stronger legal protections against intimidation and SLAPP lawsuits; improved economic security through fair wages and labour law enforcement; enhanced transparency in media ownership and financing; better access to public information through stricter accountability measures; and targeted interventions to address gender-based violence against women journalists.

These recommendations aim to create a safer, more independent and more transparent media environment in Albania.

BIRN Albania and SCiDEV invite journalists, researchers, policymakers and civil society organisations to engage with the findings of the report and collaborate in advocating for stronger media protections and a more independent press in Albania. The research will continue in 2025 and 2026, ensuring continuous monitoring and policy recommendations based on empirical data.

Download the full report here:
English Version
Albanian Version

The three-year project: “Strengthening Media Freedom, Professionalism and Journalists’ Safety in Albania” is implemented by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania (BIRN Albania), in cooperation with Science for Innovation Development Centre (SCiDEV) and Qendra Faktoje.

The project is awarded within the EU funded Call: “Civil Society Facility and Media Programme 2022 and Thematic Programme for Human Rights and Democracy 2022-2023” with a reference number: IPAIII/2023/451-708.

In  the framework of this project, BIRN Albania has opened a call for 3 (three) Sub-Grants to support local media outlets in Albania (NGOs) with technical editorial and financial resources in order to report independently, ethically and in a gender-balanced way. The objective of this second call is enhancing local media outlets (NGOs) production, targeting specific audiences, particularly youth, women and minority/ vulnerable groups, through technical, editorial and financial support.

BIRN Albania will grant EUR 8,000 – 15,000 to three successful applicants interested in this open call, with duration of action from 10 months to 12 months. Any grant requested under this call for proposals must cover 100% of total eligible costs of the action.

Expected results for each grant:

• Media articles, fact checking and other multimedia content (video, visualizations, podcasts, etc) on human rights abuses, fundamental rights violations, local government accountability and underreported topics relevant to local communities, will be produced and published by the grant beneficiaries.
• Freedom of Information requests to relevant public bodies will be submitted by the grant beneficiaries
• Joint meetings with local representatives (CSOs and community member) conducted by the grant beneficiaries.
• Active participation of the grant beneficiaries on networking and exchange meetings, training and mentoring activities, organised by the contracting authority.

Who will be supported:

• In order to be eligible for a grant, the applicant must:
• a non-governmental organization registered and acting in the territory of Albania for more than 12 months from the date of application;
• have an active, periodically updated media outlet;
• non-profit making;
• directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action;
• have previous experience (during the last 12 months) in implementing grants on media sector.

How to apply:

Applications must be submitted in one envelope which should contain the following documents:

• Administrative documents as per list in section 2.1.1. must be sent only in electronic format (USB or CD).
• Full Application Form (Annex 1), Budget (Annex 2) and Log-frame (Annex 3) must be sent in hardcopy, signed and sealed by the legal representative, and in the electronic version.

On the outer envelope must be written: The name of the applicant organization and title of the project proposal.

Applications must be submitted at the address below:

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Albania (BIRN Albania)
Address: Str. Nikolla Jorga,Apt. 8/8, Tirana, Albania

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be rejected. Incomplete applications may be rejected.

The deadline for the submission of applications is March 3, 2025, 17.00 hours.

For more details regarding the application procedures please see Guideline for Subgranting Schemes.

Please find attached the application package:

Annex 1: Application Form
Annex 2: Budget Form
Annex 3: Logical Framework Form
Annex 4: Checklist for the application
Annex A – Annex E: Administrative documents

On January 16, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Albania (BIRN Albania) held a specialized training session for the Central Election Commission (CEC) Administration on the monitoring of social and online media during electoral campaigns.

The training drew on in-depth data and findings from BIRN Albania’s monitoring of the last two electoral cycles, providing a data-driven perspective on challenges, trends and best practices in monitoring election campaigns in Albania.

The session emphasized the importance of media monitoring in ensuring transparency and accountability during elections. Using lessons taken from past elections, participants were equipped with knowledge on identifying campaign-related financial spending on social media, detecting disinformation and addressing hate speech and unethical practices.

Key topics covered included:

1. Social Media Algorithms and Campaign Trends – Analysis of how algorithms influence the reach and visibility of campaign content.
2. Monitoring Political Ads and Campaign Messaging – Practical tools for tracking and analyzing campaign expenditures and communication strategies on digital platforms.
3. Transparency in Electoral Campaign Finances – Based on insights from the 2023 financial reports analysis, this explored the challenges of identifying discrepancies in reported financial data, undeclared expenditures on campaign advertisement and hidden funding practices by political parties.

4. Identifying Electoral Disinformation and Misinformation – Strategies for detecting and countering misleading narratives related to the integrity of electoral processes.
5. Ethical and Legal Considerations in Monitoring – Discussion on safeguarding personal data and adhering to ethical standards during monitoring.

Participants also examined international best practices and the role of third parties in ensuring fair and transparent elections. The training highlighted how data transparency, particularly in campaign finances, is a cornerstone of democratic accountability, underscoring the importance of rigorous oversight in this area.

Particular attention was given to ethics and personal data protection during media monitoring, ensuring that monitoring activities align with both legal frameworks and ethical standards.

In preparation for the parliamentary elections due on May 11, the CEC is intensifying efforts to enhance its campaign monitoring processes. A Special Structure is being established to ensure compliance with international recommendations and best practices, with consultations ongoing among civil society and key electoral stakeholders.

BIRN Albania’s training is a step forward in equipping the CEC Administration with the tools and knowledge it needs for effective oversight of online and social media during election campaigns, ensuring transparency and accountability in the democratic process.

This training builds on the findings from BIRN Albania’s monitoring of the 2023 local elections. Participants were encouraged to refer to the following reports for a deeper understanding:

• Social Media Monitoring: Local Elections 2023 in Albania (download the report in Albanian or English language)
• Audiovisual Media Monitoring: Local Elections 2023 in Albania (download the report in Albanian or English language)
• Analysis of the Financial Reports of Electoral Subjects on the 2023 Electoral Campaign (download the report in Albanian or English language)

These reports provide invaluable insights into the media and financial aspects of electoral campaigns in Albania and serve as key resources for the effective monitoring and oversight of future elections.

The event, organized in partnership with Together for Life, Qëndresa Qytetare, and Destiny Center for Excellence under the European Union-funded SPACE project, highlighted the urgent need for improved transparency and inclusivity in Albania’s health and education sectors.

This report provides a comprehensive evaluation of transparency and accessibility in eight public institutions, including regional health and education directorates. It identifies critical gaps in information availability, institutional accountability, and the inclusion of vulnerable groups, offering actionable recommendations to address these challenges.

Kristina Voko, Executive Director of BIRN Albania, emphasized the significance of the report during her opening remarks: “This publication serves as a vital tool for civil society and policymakers, shedding light on systemic issues while paving the way for reforms that can strengthen public trust and service quality.”

Key findings, presented by Ardita Shehaj, an expert in transparency programs, and Aida Myftaraj from ACER, revealed disparities in proactive transparency and FOI responsiveness across institutions.

The panel also featured Suela Lala, an activist for the rights of people with disabilities, Romina Sefa, an advocate for minority rights, and Xheni Karaj, a prominent LGBTI activist, whose perspectives enriched the discussions by bringing the voices of marginalized communities to the forefront. Their inclusion underscored the necessity of addressing the unique challenges faced by these groups in accessing health and education services.

The roundtable brought together public officials, civil society representatives, and advocacy groups, fostering a robust discussion on implementing the report’s recommendations and improving the accountability of public institutions.

This report marks a pivotal step in empowering civil society, promoting evidence-based advocacy, and advancing good governance in Albania.

Full monitoring report in Albanian can be downloaded here.

Full monitoring report in English can be downloaded here.