Tag: Kosovo

This training covered aspects such as introduction to terrorism and different forms of violent extremism and continued with the strategic objectives of the Strategy. Labinot Leposhtica, Legal Office and Monitoring Coordinator at BIRN Kosovo and Member of the Working Group for National Strategy for Preventing and Countering Terrorism, highlighted the role of the local level in countering extremism and terrorism especially within the local communities and the actual need for local implementation of the strategy.

Milot Sfishta, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,  emphasized the crucial role of local authorities in meeting the objectives of the Strategy and explained in detail through a presentation an overview of the current situation returnees while highlighting the importance of the local-level on the process in general.

A total of 16 participants attended the training, out of which, five women, reflected a diverse group of municipal representatives and municipal staff members of the Municipality of Podujeve.

By the conclusion of the training, participants were left with a deeper understanding of the national strategy as well as an increased awareness of their responsibilities as public servants. This training is aimed at serving a safer and more resilient community, better prepared to face the realities of violent extremism.

The event was conducted as part of the ‘Resilient Community Programme’ established by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF).

The training sessions aim to develop the capacity of journalists and local media influencers, including editors and public relations officers on the new cadastre law, trade contracts of movable and immovable property, administrative procedures for property registration and how to report on these issues.

The training sessions delivered by legal experts and editors from BIRN Kosovo will take place in seven municipalities: Prishtina, Prizren, Peja, Gjakova, Gjilan, Mitrovica and Ferizaj

This activity is part of the Public Information and Awareness Services for Vulnerable Communities in Kosovo PIAKOS project, with BIRN acting as co-implementing party. The project is financed by the World Bank/State and Peace Building Trust Fund.

Deadline for applications: 30 November, 2024

Link to apply: https://shorturl.at/3JZlp

BIRN Kosovo held a four-day training course from November 6 to 12, 2024, at the Correctional Center in Lipjan with women prisoners.

The course aimed at preparing these 13 female prisoners for reintegration into society,focused on property law, financial management, and grant applications.

Over the four days, they were introduced to key concepts related to property ownership, financial independence, and access to grants.

The training was designed to provide practical skills that would help the women rebuild their lives and their transition back into society after release.

The training was divided into two groups, with each group attending for two consecutive days.

It began with an overview of property law, led by Labinot Leposhtica, Legal Office Coordinator at BIRN Kosovo. He explained the importance of property ownership, methods of acquiring property and the legal processes involved in registering and protecting property rights. This session provided participants with a basic understanding of how property rights can affect their financial security and independence.

The next session, led by Kreshnik Gashi, Editor-in-Chief of KALLXO.com, focused on the legal and institutional frameworks that protect property rights. Gashi discussed the role of mechanisms such as the Free Legal Aid Agency in securing property rights and outlined the steps women can take if they encounter problems with property rights.

The second day focused on financial management and practical skills for self-reliance.

Albulena Sadiku, Senior Programs Manager at BIRN Kosovo, led a session on writing project proposals. She discussed how to structure proposals, define clear objectives and outline activities for successful project outcomes. Sadiku emphasized the importance of project management skills, covering essential steps for effective project implementation and monitoring.

Later, Visar Prebreza, Managing Editor of KALLXO.com, led a session on starting a business and applying for grants. He provided guidance on identifying grant opportunities, understanding eligibility requirements and overcoming the challenges of the grant application process.

The women were encouraged to actively participate by asking questions and sharing experiences. The interactive format allowed for a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical insights that they could immediately apply to their personal situations.

By equipping participants with essential skills in property law, financial management and grant writing, the program aimed to help the women regain control of their lives and achieve long-term stability.

The goal was to give the women the tools and confidence they need to live independently and successfully reintegrate into society. By the end of the course, participants said they had gained valuable knowledge and practical skills.

The training was organized as part of the PIAKOS – Public Information and Awareness Services for Vulnerable Communities in Kosovo – project with BIRN acting as co-implementing party. The project is financed by the World Bank/State and Peacebuilding fund.

The training began at Civil Society House in Prishtina, where representatives of GCERF – Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund – and NGOs shared experiences in combating extremism and terrorism, focusing on rehabilitation and reintegration in Kosovo.

Organisations including ATRC – Advocacy Training and Resource Centre – the youth organisation RinON, and BIRN Kosovo discussed their efforts to combat religious extremism and ethnonationalism. The second part of the day involved a meeting in Hani i Elezit with Mayor Mehmet Ballazhi, who praised the municipality’s approach towards rehabilitating returnees and engaging the community.

The head of the Referral Mechanism emphasized their active cooperation with civil society organisations and with BIRN Kosovo, particularly on skills like cybersecurity and privacy documentation.

The second day featured an address by Kreshnik Gashi from Kallxo.com, on ethical reporting on violent extremism and terrorism. Labinot Leposhtica, from BIRN Kosovo, presented studies on the causes of extremism and the reintegration of returnees, contrasting Albania’s targeted approach with that of Kosovo.

Lejdi Dervishi, Albania’s National Coordinator on Countering Extremism, discussed the importance of regional cooperation in rehabilitation efforts. Iris Luarasi from the Counseling Line for Women and Girls emphasized advocacy and strategic communication to combat the stigma faced by returnees, highlighting issues surrounding identity exposure in media coverage.

The day concluded with a documentary screening by BIRN, Extremism and Radicalism, which explored various perspectives on the motivations behind joining foreign conflicts.

On the third day of training, Kreshnik Gashi gave a presentation on right-wing extremist groups in the Balkans, followed by Mensur Hoti’s overview of Kosovo’s anti-terrorism strategy, encompassing prevention, protection, pursuit, and response.

Fatos Makolli discussed the current terrorism situation in Kosovo, while Luan Keka led a session on the rise of religious extremism in Europe and its impact in Kosovo. The day concluded with a panel on the reintegration of individuals returning from war zones and a documentary, The Danger from Extremism, highlighting updated perspectives on extremism and terrorism cases.

The fourth day was focused on building communication between security institutions and journalists in crisis situations and lessons learned from the case of Kosovo and building educational media campaigns to educate the public on the prevention of violent extremism, including the importance of building editorial policies to stop the spread of extremist ideologies in the media and social networks.

An important aspect of the day was the protection of privacy and confidentiality of persons involved in the resocialization process and concrete policies, especially for children and women.

On the final day, participants conducted a study visit to the Correctional facility of Dubrava in Istog, Kosovo, and by visiting this correctional centre, gained a more practical perspective on how those sentenced by courts for terrorism are doing their sentences.

The study visit was led by the director of this centre, which is one of the largest prisons in Kosovo, with a capacity for around 1,000 people.

He welcomed the group and explained in detail the process inside this facility, which includes educational and recreative programmes and monitoring of their actions by psychologists and other staff members of the centre.

The training included 20 participants, 10 of whom were women. The participants actively engaged in the training, sharing experiences and asking questions on how to effectively deal with terrorism and violent extremism.

The training was part of the “Resilient Community Programme” funded by GCERF.

On October 25, BIRN Kosovo held a conference to publish a report, “Data-Driven Governance: Strategies for Open Data in the Western Balkans”, which deals with the availability of open data and digitalization in the Western Balkans. A total of 27 participants, 15 of whom were women, attended.

Xheneta Murtezaj, researcher at BIRN Kosovo, opened the conference and presented the main. findings, stating that the research team had “reviewed how data is published, in what format, and whether it is accessible”.

According to Murtezaj, the report reveals that while donors play a crucial role in supporting open data and digitization initiatives, “new platforms often stagnate once donor funding ends, as institutions lack the willingness to push these projects forward independently”.

The report, based on the latest research on open data availability and digitalization in the Western Balkan, maps thousands of e-services and over 3,000 open data sets, including more than 50 interviews exploring key stakeholders’ capacities and engagement in these areas.

The research also highlights negative trends, such as data leaks, privacy breaches, inadequate responses to cyber-attacks and inconsistent policy applications, which pose significant challenges to progress.

The conference continued with a discussion panel moderated by Dorentina Kastrati, editor at BIRN, with panelists including: Arbian Arifi, acting chief of the Department for Data Protection at the Agency for Information and Privacy; Agron Ibishi, an IT expert in e-procurement at the Regulatory Commission for Public Procurement; Plator Avdiu, project manager at KDI and; Besfort Guri, board member of Free Libre Open Source Software Kosova, FLOSSK, an NGO.

According to Arban Arifi, open data “should be available on a state portal, with a designated official in each ministry responsible for updating the portal without the need for formal access requests”.

However, in some cases in Kosovo, municipalities have shared what is private information. For example, Gjakova municipality shared health data when distributing subsidies to people with special needs. The privacy agency fined the municipality, as “health data should not be equated with transparency”.

Avdiu from KDI said a major challenge with open data in Kosovo lies in its lack of interoperability across government sectors.

Agron Ibishi, an IT expert in public procurement, highlighted the advances made in open data since 2016 with the introduction of e-procurement aimed at streamlining processes and increasing efficiency for both contracting authorities and economic operators.

However, Besfort Guri, a board member of FLOSSK, emphasized that open data remains limited to specific sectors in Kosovo.

This public event is part of the “Open Data and Digitalization in the Western Balkans” grant supported by the Open Society Foundation Western Balkan and implemented by BIRN.

To read the full report, click this link.

A total of 18 journalists from Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, and Bosnia, 14 of whom were women, attended.

Over three days, the participants became familiar with fact-checking and verification tools and studied in-depth investigations from the region.

The first day started with an introduction to the training and project given by Arita Suhodolli, Program Manager at BIRN Kosovo.

The first session was held by Visar Prebreza, managing editor of investigations and fact-checking at KALLXO.com, who spoke about the critical role of investigative journalism in holding powerful individuals and institutions accountable.

Participants learned more how impactful reporting can expose corruption and influence tangible change, with a special focus on case studies of high-profile investigations made by KALLXO.com that led to arrests and legal action.

The second and third sessions were held by Ximena Villagrán, Chief Operating Officer at Maldita.es.

She addressed the global challenges posed by disinformation, where sensationalism and clickbait often dominate the media landscape, undermining the credibility of fact-based journalism. This session explored the crucial role that fact-checking and investigative journalism play in countering false narratives and fostering resilience against malign influences.

Ximena Villagrán spoke also about the innovative tools for engaging younger audiences together with her colleague, Alba Moreno, who spoke about the Factous page launched by Maldita.es itself, a social media page mainly on Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube Shorts.

This initiative aims to guarantee access to information for all people, and awaken the interest of young people in issues that affect them most: politics, economy, culture.

According to them, the page was launched to provide citizens with reliable content based on evidence, facts and data that refutes misinformation and addresses citizens’ information queries with varied and accessible formats, creating a more resilient, accessible and reliable information and media ecosystem.

Moreno explained that the objective is to bring current events closer to younger people using friendly and informal language but without neglecting rigour.

The second day continued with Ylli Buleshkaj, Director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, who spoke about the role of whistleblowers and how to protect them.

Buleshkaj gave best practices of protecting whistleblowers based on legal principles and models from regulatory bodies.

The second session was held by Faik Ispahiu, Executive Director of Internews Kosova and TV Producer, who spoke about the art of visual storytelling in TV investigations, showing how to combine compelling narratives with engaging visuals.

Ispahiu spoke also about the creation of a media platform using information technology where citizens can report on corruption and organised crime and the protection of whistleblowers within organised crime groups and cross-border crime.

The fourth session was held by Xhorxhina Bami, editor and journalist at BIRN, who spoke about her investigations on cyberbullying networks within the Balkans including the protection and security of journalists while reporting on the topic and the case of weapons confiscated during the Banjska attack in Kosovo in 2023.

The third day started with a session on tackling inter-ethnic disinformation  from Russia and China within the region, held by Dren Gerguri, lecturer at the University of Prishtina’s Department of Journalism.

He also spoke about the online tools that are being used by AI to identify manipulated materials and news spread online.

Fatjona Mejdini, Director of the South Eastern Europe Observatory, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, spoke about her in-depth investigation of drug networks from Ecuador in Europe and Western Balkans.

The training closed with a presentation by Arita Suhodolli, Program Manager at BIRN on the Fellowship program.

The training course was held as part of the EU-funded project Strengthening Quality News and Independent Journalism in the Western Balkans and Turkey II.

His film, titled “Centro di Permanenza Temporanea”, which is Italian and translates to “Temporary Detention Center”, refers to the Italian temporary camps for undocumented immigrants, evoking a paradox between temporary and permanent existence.

On the 2nd of October, Adrian Paci joined BIRN Kosovo at Reporting House, in an inspiring work, which explores themes of identity, migration, and political transformation, reflecting Paci’s own journey of displacement.

Paci’s work challenges viewers to contemplate the state of those waiting for a fight to nowhere, trapped between the transitory and the fixed. It symbolizes the broader dislocation experienced by migrants worldwide. His work has been featured at the Venice Biennale and in major collections like MoMA and the Guggenheim.

Currently his work is exhibited at Reporting House. His work is significant as displacement and migration is a constant outcome of conflicts and wars.

The discussion with Paci, provided a unique opportunity for over 60 participants, especially in the field of arts, to engage with Paci’s insights and work, and a very personal story of the journey of an artist of displacement and rediscovery.

“Centro di Permanenza Temporanea” is being screened at Reporting House and is open for visitors – from Tuesday to Saturday, starting from 10 am to 6 pm – at the former Germia Department Store Building in the center of Prishtina/Kosovo.

The panel discussion “25 Years of German-Kosovar Partnership Marked at Reporting House”, organized in partnership with the German Embassy in Prishtina, gathered hundreds of participants from politics, media, civil society, and diplomats.

Moderated by Michael Martens, from the renowned German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the panel included key voices on this discussion, such as Manuel Sarrazin, the German Federal Government Special Representative for the Western Balkans; Donika Emini, Senior Security Expert and Researcher, and publicist Veton Surroi.

The discussion highlighted Germany’s crucial role during the Kosovo War and the state-building process, its significant financial and political investments, and the ongoing challenges and expectations that have shaped the partnership between the two nations since 1990.

As the focus shifted to the future, the speakers stressed the importance of continued collaboration to tackle current European challenges, including the integration process for the Western Balkans.

BIRN Kosovo held a workshop for local groups on how to effectively monitor terrorism and violent extremism.

The workshop, in Prishtina on September 30, was attended by local NGOs and representatives of local civil society organisations (CSOs).

It began with participants from CSOs giving an overview of their work and interest in the field of preventing and countering violent extremism. There was a short presentation on the current situation regarding terrorism and extremism in Kosovo. This was followed by an explanation of the National Strategy for Preventing and Countering Terrorism, with a focus on developing monitoring and research projects on this topic.

During the workshop, Kreshnik Gashi, Managing Editor of Kallxo.com, an online platform which exposes corruption, discussed how the national strategy, which runs from 2023 to 2028, is being implemented at a local level.

Milot Sfishta, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, provided an overview of how and where terrorism and extremism were impacting Kosovo, and how the government could collaborate with CSOs in addressing these issues.

The workshop was part of the Resilient Community Programme funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). 

Overmatter 

focused on the development of monitoring and research projects in the fields of terrorism and extremism. A total of 12 participants took part in the one-day, focused workshop focused on the field of preventing and countering violent extremism, out of which 4 were women.
During the workshop, the attendees were engaged and expressed their opinions that such workshops are very important for them as they continue working in the civil society sector in the local level.

The opening event was held at the historic Hamam of Prishtina and included a discussion with the artists on her photography, which captures the social life from different regions of Kosovo during the 1980s and 1990s.

The artist explained to the audience that her series of photography “Bathers” is a very personal series, as it reflects her reconnection with her father from whom she was separated when she was 4 years old.

“This series of photographs is very poignant for me because it was a journey I undertook with my father and he was sharing his love of architecture with me in the 1980s and 90s. What I saw was his enthusiasm and joy in architecture. What I experienced are these photographs”, said Meredith Vula.

Her father worked in Kosovo’s Institution for Protection of Monuments, specializing in preserving old hammams. As he introduced her to this world, Vula began documenting the disuse of the Prishtina Hamam, later photographing bathers at a functioning Hamam near the Albanian-Macedonian border and photographed those bathers who are returned to a hamam today, as they experienced it then, four decades ago.

In “Bathers,” Vula challenges traditional artistic representations of women bathing, offering a modern, spontaneous perspective.

“In my research, I stumbled into a hidden dream world of calm and purity, a safe place of mysterious beauty. These photographs are dedicated to the hope and beauty which I found amongst these women” said Vula.

This event gathered artists, civil society representatives, architects, and media.

Lala Meredith Vula’s exhibition will be open at Prishtinas Hamma, during October, from Monday to Saturday.