Selma Asceric

Selma joined BIRN Hub in 2024. As Project and Development Manager, based in Sarajevo, she is responsible for leading and coordinating activities related to the initiation and smooth operation of the Reporting House project, gallery and exhibition space developed by BIRN Hub, and/or other projects.

Previously, she worked in the NGO sector and has extensive experience in international companies. As project lead and team coordinator she was responsible for delivering, planning, managing and monitoring projects. A Master of Laws, Selma is fluent in English.

Neil Arun

Neil joined BIRN in 2016 as an editor.

He edits the Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence, BIRN’s annual bursary for long-form journalism. He has been an editor with the programme for more than seven years. 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.

Igor Vujcic

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.

Jules Eisenchteter

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.

European Climate Foundation (ECF)

DONOR
The European Climate Foundation (ECF) is a major philanthropic initiative working to help tackle the climate crisis by fostering the development of a net-zero emission society at the national, European, and global level.

The ECF supports over 700 partner organisations to carry out activities that drive urgent and ambitious policy in support of the objectives of the Paris Agreement, contribute to the public debate on climate action, and help deliver a socially responsible transition to a net-zero economy and sustainable society in Europe and around the world.

It was founded in 2008 by philanthropists to develop solutions and activate political engagement and public consciousness around this global emergency. For the last 15 years, the ECF has been a galvanising force in promoting Europe’s climate leadership.

ECF is part of a highly supportive global network to stimulate climate-related policy work worldwide.

Web: https://europeanclimate.org/

Aleksandra Vrbica

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.

Marija Vasilevska

Marija joined the BIRN team in September 2022 as a Project Manager for Business Development.

She is based in Skopje, North Macedonia, working on projects under the program Capacity Building and Strengthening of Independent Media. Marija also works on designing BIRN’s business development strategy including project scoping, business case development, project plan construction, resource definition and successful execution. She also plans and contributes towards the designing of projects.

Marija brings more than 15 years of working experience in the NGO sector, nationally, regionally and and internationally. Her extensive working experience includes coordination and projection of actions in the fields of media, education and human rights. She is passionate about developing projects and programmes that comprise innovative approaches, different stakeholders and digitalization focused on ensuring a long-term impact in society. Marija is also highly experienced in monitoring and evaluation and quality assurance in higher education.

Her previous working experience includes working as a Project Manager in Blink 42-21, as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist in a USAID-funded project and working in a production house in various positions, including being a journalist. She has also worked with UN Women, the Regional Cooperation Council, the European Students Union, and other international organisations, in different capacities.

Marija holds a Master’s in finance and financial Law and a Bachelor’s degree in law obtained from Justinian Primus – Skopje. Currently, she is a PhD student at University American College–Skopje, focusing her research on the quality of education in relation to macroeconomic development.

Miloš Ćirić

Milos is BIRN’s long-time collaborator and author of BIRN’s flagship publication Balkan Insight. Over the last 15 years, he worked in various capacities with numerous regional CSOs and independent media outlets as a writer, journalist, educator, media and human rights activist.

Milos joined BIRN Hub in 2022 first as Lead Researcher and then shortly after took the role of BIRN’s Digital Rights Programme Manager. Milos is responsible for designing and implementing BIRN Digital Rights Programme which includes, but is not limited to, overseeing the production of reports and analyses dealing with the health of the digital ecosystem and the use of advanced technologies, capacity-building efforts for journalists, and civil society members and oversee grant implementation of local partners. He is also responsible for managing the growing number of projects within BIRN’s Digital Rights Programme and its growing network of associates, researchers, and experts.

Milos holds a Master of Arts in Media Studies gained at The New School University, New York City, where he also worked as a research associate and part-time faculty/teaching fellow. He also holds a Master Manager in Culture and Media degree from UNESCO’s MA program Cultural Policy and Management at Université Lyon 2, France, and the University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. He received his BA degree in International Relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade.

Vuk Tesija

Vuk Tesija joined BIRN Hub in February 2023 as a correspondent from Croatia.

He is based in Osijek, Zagreb and Hvar, trying to cover all relevant news and processes in Croatia. Previously he worked as a correspondent for the Deutsche Welle, an editor in the daily Glas Slavonije, a journalist at CIN Sarajevo, a correspondent for the daily Jutarnji List, and occasionally worked with a dozen other media. He wrote his first articles on a typewriter more than 25 years ago.

Along with his native Croatian, he speaks English, Macedonian and some Russian.

Emily Hoyle

Emily joined BIRN Hub in October 2022 as a Programme Manager and is based primarily between the UK and BIRN Hub’s Sarajevo office.

Her responsibilities include Network coordination and capacity building, institutional grant management and business development. Previously, she worked as a senior Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Executive for a strategic communications and research firm in London, applying mixed methods research approaches to the implementation and evaluation of a variety of programmes with a focus on strengthening media and media literacy in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Emily holds a Joint MA(Hons) in Comparative Literature and Modern History at the University of St Andrews (including a year abroad at Koç University), and an MPhil in Islamic Studies and History from the University of Oxford.

Alongside her native English, she speaks intermediate Farsi, basic Turkish and is currently studying BCMS.