Tag: Hub

Applicants are encouraged to consider the annual theme, communities, in a broad sense. Candidates should examine different groupings-political, economic, national, gender, generational – and the relationship between them, external influences and the development of entirely new groups or factions. Candidates should write about the topic not just in the context of their home country, but also in at least one other regional state and within the European Union and should choose phenomena that are relevant, current and original.

 

Fellows are expected to deliver investigative stories of no more than 2,000 words that will inform regional readers about issues that have not been covered by the media before.

 

Remzi Lani, director of the Albanian Media Institute and a member of the program’s selection committee, described the fellowship as “a success story” and “opportunity not to be missed”. “The programme offers a unique opportunity for detailed, in-depth reporting in your country and beyond. At the same time, if offers fellows the opportunity to meet colleagues and industry professionals from across Europe”, says Remzi Lani.

 

Ten applicants selected by an independent committee to take part in the fellowship will receive a €2,000 bursary, up to another €2,000 for travel and research expenses and will attend career development seminars in Vienna and Skopje. In addition, the top three articles, again judged by an independent committee, will attract awards of €4,000, €3,000 and €1,000.

 

In the attachment you may read the recommendation from the 2011 winner, Juliana Koleva from Bulgaria.

 

Detailed information on this year’s theme, application form and guidelines can be found at:

http://fellowship.birn.eu.com/en/fellowship-programme/topic-2012-communities-apply-now.

 

Contact for further information:

 

Dragana Žarković Obradović

Fellowship programme manager, BIRN

 

Email: [email protected]

 

The programme is financed by the European Commission and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

The aim of the training course is to introduce journalists and translators to the topic of transitional justice as a practical field from a journalistic perspective.

 

Gordana Igrić, the regional BIRN director welcomed the newly established Balkan Transitional Justice Journalistic Team by saying that one of the aims of the programme is to contribute to the process of coming to terms with the past.

 

Nerma Jelačić, the Head of the ICTY Outreach Programme, presented the concept of transitional justice based on four pillars: the right to know, the right to justice, the right to reparation, and non-repetition of the past human rights violations.

 

Throughout the week, Jelačić will provide insights into the challenges that journalists face when they cover transitional justice issues.

 

The training also includes presentations by representatives of key BiH judiciaries and experts on transitional justice issues such Jasmina Pjanic, the Head of the Criminal Defence Section of BIH, Liljana Zurovac from the BiH Press Council, and Saša Madacki from the Human Rights Center.

 

The participants will have the opportunity to visit the Court of BiH, follow a war crime trial, and practice how to report about the case they attended.

 

Balkan Transitional Justice is a regional programme that aims to increase a general public understanding of transitional justice in post-Yugoslav countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia) and improve the state of media.

 

The online production in four regional languages (Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Montenegrin, Albanian and Macedonian) and English starts in February 2012, whereby radio and TV output will follow later.

 

The new board is composed of Tim Judah, author and Balkan correspondent for the Economist, Wolfgang Petritsch, Permanent Representative of Austria to the OECD, Steve Crawshaw, international advocacy director at Amnesty International and Stefan Lehne, former Austrian diplomat and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Europe in Brussels. They will be joined by a BIRN representative chosen on an annual basis by the Steering Committee of the Hub.

The BIRN Hub Board has responsibility for major decisions related to the Network’s strategy, adopts the Director’s annual report and ensures that Network regulation rules are upheld. It will assist the Regional Network Director in designing programmes and other operational matters as opportunities or needs dictate.

The Steering Committee will be composed of representatives of BIRN members of the Network and the Regional Director and will act as a hands-on operational body to ensure that the Network continues to maintain highest standards.

The changes agreed in November will be reflected next year in changes to the BIRN Hub Statute, as well as in the Network regulation rules. Network members see these changes as marking a milestone in the life of BIRN that will contribute to the organization’s further development and prevent potential conflicts of interest.

 

The project’s overall goal is to raise awareness of transitional justice issues in Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro and so contribute to the process of reconciliation in the region.

A team of journalists will be formed to cover war crime trials and other key issues and their subsequent news, analysis and investigations will be published on Balkan Insight in both English and local languages.

A monthly radio show, Radio Regional Justice Production, will also be produced in local languages using the capacities of BIRN Bosnia’s existing Radio Justice Programme.

The project also includes a TV Regional Justice Production, a TV series comprising six shows, plus a separate TV documentary, which will be produced using the material that the team has collected.

Our expectation is that that this valuable project will have a lasting, positive impact in the region by fostering democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and a sustainable peace.

 

This is the second edition of the guide, which BIRN has decided to publish in response to the high demand of journalists requiring a guide to investigative journalism, which resulted in all copies of the first edition being quickly distributed.

Digging Deeper offers insight into various databases available in the Balkan region and tips for practitioners, as the most useful elements for all journalists.

This guide is intended for all journalists seeking to improve their investigative skills and will also inspire others to move into the field of investigative journalism.

The Web Fest conference is organised by successful web companies for all those who live with, and work on, the web. At the same time, it is the largest regional event popularising the use of the internet and awarding successful web projects. This year, Web Fest is all about “ENERGIZING-IT-UP” and discovering who is behind the Internet.

The first Web Fest was held in 2007, when a group of internet enthusiasts and technology lovers highlighted the efforts of the daring souls whose successful projects were being launched on the Web. The festival has grown constantly over the years, drawing the attention and participation of authors, artists, businessmen, academics, scientists and even actors. One of its main points of interest is the submission of new and innovative internet projects for award consideration.

The awards are set to be broadcast live at the event’s closing. Submission categories are still being structured but are likely to include awards for projects such as information delivery, business use and e-commerce, personal and creative use and blogging.

WebFest is also an online competition, with the public able to vote for their favourite websites. BIRN is proud to announce that this year its premium website, BalkanInsight.com, will participate in the competition. “Being the Balkans best English language informative website and truly unique in the region sometimes is not enough. It’s a much greater thing if someone else says it instead of me, right? Therefore, we will take the opportunity to invite all of our readers, all those who love Balkan Insight and share it all across social media platforms, to vote for us. It takes just one click to vote and it’s important that we spread the news about the voting option to all our fans, followers and premium subscribers in a timely manner. Voting will start on October 15th,” said BIRN online projects director Miloš Milosavljević.

Balkan Insight is an award-winning Internet edition of the regional Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (www.BIRN.eu.com), which has newsrooms present in nine countries of Southeast Europe. With a reputation as one of the most respected sources of analysis and investigative reporting, BalkanInsight.com is a unique hotspot for those whose focus is on the Balkans – Europe’s most dynamic region.

Balkan Insight is a portal in a niche market and in English, with an international audience. In 2008 it was among the first in the region to introduce 2CheckOut for Premium Subscription (subscription to premium content).

 

SCOOP has decided to fund five of the seven submitted investigative story proposals.

The software contribution will enable BIRN Network Members to more easily carry out their daily reporting, both in the office and on the field, together with easing communication and collaboration.

In this way Microsoft is supporting BIRN’s mission to build and strengthen its interconnected cadre of journalists across the Balkans, probing and analysing key transition issues and the process of European integration for policy-makers and the public at large.

 

Trainers and leading journalists, like Sheila Coronel, Nick Davies, Helena Bengtsson, Paul Radu, Helen Darbishire, Drew Sullivan, Paul Bradshaw, Randall Joyce and more, held sessions during the week-long training course. The main daily topics addressed the fundamentals of investigative reporting, paper trails, investigative interviews and how to investigate organized crime and corruption.

“We are more than pleased to have well-known journalists for trainers and high quality attendees. All of them worked perfectly as a team,” said Jelena Cosic, BIRN Summer School project coordinator.

Under a new format introduced as of this year, participants were divided into groups and on the last day the groups presented the story ideas they had been working on since the beginning of the school. Five of the seven teams gained funding from SCOOP, a Danish organisation for investigative journalists.

The final day saw BIRN regional director Gordana Igric award certificates during a night cruise through the beautiful Kvarner Bay, thereby officially drawing a close to the 2011 Summer School.

 

Fellowship alumni participated in the third annual ERSTE Foundation Community meeting and ideas exchange held in Austria’s famed Tyrolean region.

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