Tag: Hub

The three-day training course on transitional justice reporting, organised by BIRN in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, started in the Serbian capital Belgrade on Monday.

A total of 25 reporters from various countries across the former Yugoslavia are being trained by journalists with substantial experience in covering war crimes trials and transitional justice topics, and hearing from experts who are directly involved in legal processes, such as prosecutors and court officials.

The participants were addressed at the start of the course by Francine Pickup, the UNDP resident representative in Serbia, who pointed out that there are still hundreds of war crimes cases to be prosecuted in the region and said that the training could help journalists address challenges they might face while reporting on the proceedings.

“We hope that this training will help you in your reporting and that it will give you some advice on how to strengthen your relationships with relevant institutions,” Pickup said.

As well as looking at the essentials of criminal procedures, best practices for reporting on cases and sources of information for journalists, the course also focuses on the role that victims play in war crimes trial processes.

Expert panellists at the course include Ivan Jovanovic from UNDP Regional War Crimes Project, Nemanja Stjepanovic from the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals Registry, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state prosecution spokesperson Boris Grubjesic, Croatian Chief State Attorney’s Office spokesperson Martina Mihordin, and Vasilije Saratlic, deputy war crimes prosecutor and spokesperson at Serbia’s War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office.

BIRN’s Regional Director Marija Ristic said that the idea of the training course was to look beyond the proceedings in war crime trials and use the archives that courts have built up and the legacy of their judgments as story material.

“This job is very rewarding because we are giving a voice to the victims and sometimes, if it was not for us, their stories would never be told,” Ristic said.

After the course, the participants will be required to pitch an in-depth story about transitional justice issues in the Balkans.

From the pitches and general assessments of the participants during the course, BIRN will select ten journalists to participate in a study visit to The Hague that will be held in November.

The journalists who propose the best stories will receive a grant of 1,000 euros from BIRN to further develop their work in cooperation with BIRN’s experienced pool of editors.

The project is being supported by the United Kingdom’s embassy in Belgrade and the European Commission.

UK embassy first secretary Chantel Care said that it is important for journalists to strengthen their networks and partnerships, and told the participants that “you have the opportunity to do that here”.

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The fall of the Berlin Wall marked one of the greatest turning points in world history, seen by many as a bright new dawn for Europe and its path towards freedom and unification.

But three decades on from the event that set off the continent’s path to the end of communism, nations are re-erecting metaphorical and literal walls, sowing division again.

Illiberal forces have arisen, populism has spread and nationalism has moved from the fringes to more mainstream political discourse. Brexit, the migrant crisis and the eurozone crisis have all helped propel the wave of radical and populist politics that has found footing in countries across Europe and beyond.

To mark 30 years since the Berlin Wall was torn down on November 9, 1989, we want to hear from those born during that historic year as to how the state of democracy now looks in Europe’s former communist bloc.

Are you from Central or Southeastern Europe? Were you born in or around the year that the Berlin Wall fell?

We’re looking for people who are willing to share their views on camera, to present a picture of the current state of democracy for those raised in the aftermath of the Cold War, and who experienced the sweeping transformations that are still playing out today.

The key things we want to know are:

• How does democracy look in your country today?
• Do you think democracy is improving or collapsing in your country?
• What freedoms do you value in your country today and what liberties do you think are still missing?
• Are you happy with the state of democracy in your country?

Things to note:

The specific countries to be included are: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and the former Yugoslav states.

Those selected to take part will be featured in a video package which will be published on BIRN’s online channels, including Balkan Insight.

Participants will need to be available for an on-camera interview that will be scheduled with one of our local journalists between October 15-22, 2019.

How to take part?

To submit your interest in taking part, all you need to do it fill out this form.

We’ll need to receive your application by October 10, 2019.

BIRN, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, is calling for journalists to apply for a three-day course next month on reporting on transitional justice issues such as war crimes trials.

Journalists from former Yugoslav countries who are interested in transitional justice topics are eligible to apply for the training course, which will be held in the Serbian capital Belgrade from October 14-16.

“Transitional justice issues, war crimes, accountability and justice are still very important and sensitive topics in the Balkans and their journalistic coverage demands objective and fact-based reporting,” said BIRN’s regional network director, Marija Ristic.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn from experts on transitional justice topics, including journalists, judicial officials, and representatives of government and civil society.

The working language of the training course will be Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian. Simultaneous translation will be provided if needed.

After the course, participants will also be required to pitch an in-depth story on transitional justice in the Balkans.

From the pitches and general assessments at the course, BIRN will select 10 journalists to participate a study visit to The Hague that will be held in November.

The journalists who propose the best stories will receive a grant of 1,000 euros from BIRN to further develop them in cooperation with BIRN’s experienced pool of editors.

To apply, journalists should send a CV, letter of motivation, links to or examples of published work, and any other relevant documents to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Application – Training for Journalists’.

The deadline for applications is September 25.

Jovan Nikitovic won first prize in this year’s awards for EU investigative journalism in Montenegro, revealed on Monday.

He won with his series of articles on the disappearance, theft, damage or destruction of 14,475 exhibits in the National Museum and other museums in Montenegro.

The jury, comprising Leila Bicakcic as head, Milica Pesic and Dragoljub Dusko Vukovic, evaluated nine shortlisted applications. “There were many great stories and the best one had to be chosen,” Bicakcic said.

After receiving his award, Nikitovic said his work was far from over. “I was confronted with hundreds of pages of information but also hundreds of hours of conversation with numerous interviewees. This is a series of over 40 article, but new documentation is still coming and the dice are still being assembled,” he said.

Second prize went to Maja Boricic for her piece, “Medical Waste in Montenegro – A lurking menace”, and third prize to Dejan Milovac and Lazar Grdinic, for “Citizens’ donations, or black-funds”.

Milka Tadic Mijovic, president of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro, CIN-CG, the local coordinator of the EU Award, underlined the importance of investigative journalism in the region. “It is not often that we reward colleagues for their contribution to investigative journalism. This is a very broad and complex project spanning several countries,” she said.

“The reason why the EU supported this project is to encourage Western Balkan journalists to work in investigative journalism, because this is the only way to reach free societies,” said Aivo Orav, Head of the EU Delegation to Montenegro.

Marija Ristic, regional director of BIRN, stressed that the EU Awards were “just one of a series of projects to follow over the next three years that will encourage the production of research stories in Western Balkans and Turkey”.

The awards have the overall goal of celebrating and promoting outstanding investigative journalists in the Western Balkans and Turkey, as well as improving the public visibility of quality investigative journalism in these countries.

The award comes via the EU-funded project, “Strengthening Quality News and Independent Journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey”. It applies to the EU candidate and potential candidate countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. It covers investigative stories published between 2018 and 2020. In total, 63 awards will be awarded through the three-year period.

While the award in Montenegro is coordinated by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro, the regional consortium is led by the Balkan Investigative Regional Reporting Network, BIRN Hub.