Tag: Kosovo

Fifteen participants, eight of them women, participated in the training which started with an introduction to terrorism and different forms of violent extremism and continued with the strategic objectives of the Strategy, presented by Labinot Leposhtica, Legal Office and Monitoring Coordinator at BIRN Kosovo and Member of the Working Group for National Strategy for Preventing and Countering Terrorism.

The training included a discussion with participants who delved into the role of the local officials in addressing terrorism and forms of violent extremism and their concerns as well as those of officials and citizens of this municipality.

Also present was Milot Sfishta, from the Department for Public Safety in the Ministry of Interior, who emphasized the crucial role of local authorities in meeting the objectives of the Strategy.

He presented the current situation with the Strategy, the work that has been done since 2019 with the establishment of this Department, and the work done especially with the community and the education system, which includes teachers and school psychologists.

During the training, the participants were active in discussions, sharing their perspectives and experiences. The presentation and subsequent discussions enhanced their knowledge and awareness of this topic, resulting in a more informed group of individuals by the end of the session.

This training was held as part of the Resilient Community Programme, which is funded by GCERF.

On June 10, BIRN Kosovo, KALLXO.com, Prishtina Biennale and Paper Gallery launched the “Reporting House” exhibition in Pristina, marking 25 years since the end of the Kosovo war. It showcases journalism, photography and media artifacts of the time, positioned alongside contemporary artwork exploring and reflecting on the impact of the war in the decades since.

The exhibition enables visitors to navigate a conflict that simmered through the 1990s, gave birth to the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army, boiled over into war in 1998-1999 and culminated in 11 weeks of NATO airstrikes leading to the liberation of Kosovo and, in 2008, its independence.

The exhibition displays the first draft of this history, written by journalists, and demonstrates the central role played by the media alongside subsequent artistic interpretations of that history. The public is invited to further its understanding of Kosovo’s extraordinary story, while the exhibition is open to collaboration for its further development.

Open until mid-September, the exhibition presents works by artists of diverse backgrounds and regions, from established names such as Anri Sala (Albania), Adrian Paci (Albania), Goncalo Mabunda (Mosambique), Lala Meredith Vula (UK-Kosovo), Zhana Kadyrova (Ukraine), Lana Cmaijcanin (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Olafur Eliasson (Iceland-Denmark), Laura Imami (UK) and Besa Llugiqi (Kosovo) to emerging artists like Vullnet Jakupi and Vita Kasapolli from Kosovo.

Most of the television archive material and artifacts have been provided by Vaughan Smith of Frontline News Television. The exhibition features 150 television stories from Kosovo between 1992 and 1999 by the BBC, Das Erste (German Public TV), NHK (Japanese public TV), RTE (Irish public TV), EO 2 Vandaag (Dutch public TV), Tele 5 (Spanish TV), Nippon TV, RTK and Frontline Television News, promoting the work of the journalists, photographers, camera operators and local fixers who made them.

Contributors include Jeremy Bowen, Ben Brown, Ilaz Bylykbashi, Thomas Dworzak, Alan Chin, Donika Shahini, Paul Lowe, Max Stahl, Ridvan Slivova, David Loyn, Jehona Lushaku, Besnik Mehmeti, Nik Millard, Andrew Testa, Pal S. Refsdal, Flaka Surroi, Hazir Reka, Marija Ristić, Fred Scott, Eliza Hoxha, Vaughan Smith, Nora Weller, Sean Whelan, Goran Tomasević, Sami Mustafa, Alban Bujari, Linda Gusia, Eki Rrahmani, Gazmend Avdiu, Detektor.ba, Srebrenica Memorial Center, Anibar, Koha Ditore, RTK, Production 21, and Oral History Kosovo.

At the opening night, the exhibition welcomed over 300 guests, including Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu – President of the Republic of Kosovo, Edi Rama – Prime Minister of Albania, Perparim Rama – Mayor of Prishtina, Carin Lobbezoo – Dutch Ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves – British Ambassador to Kosovo, Danijela Barišić – Croatian Ambassador to Kosovo, Tomáš Szunyog – Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative, Massimo D’Alema – Former Prime Minister of Italy from 1998 to 2000, Nancy E. Soderberg – NDI Kosovo Resident Senior Director, ministers and other representatives of the government of Kosovo, representatives from civil society and distinguished individuals and activists from local and international cultural institutions.

Taking place in three venues – Gërmia Department Store being the main venue, the Great Hammam and Paper Gallery – Reporting House creates a space for contemplation, dialogue, and catharsis, honoring the memory of those affected by the war in Kosovo while advocating for “war-less” ways forward.

The exhibition is produced by Jeta Xharra and curated by Gazmend Ejupi.

The intensive training was structured into pre-arranged sessions as outlined in the training curriculum and methodology. On the first day of the training, Mr. Mensur Hoti, Director of the Department for Public Safety in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, gave an opening address on the objectives of the Strategy and Action Plan. Mr. Luan Keka, Director of the Kosovo Police Unit on Anti-terrorism, led a training session on the rise of far-right movements in Europe and terrorist organizations in Kosovo, which included a detailed explanation of the AKEA Case presented by Mr. Nexdet Haxhaj, Kosovo Police Investigator on Unit of Anti-terrorism.

During the second day of the training, two sessions were held discussing national and international investigations of terrorism cases and the role of the prosecutor’s office in addressing them. Mr. Keka and Mr. Haxhaj spoke about risk factors and terrorist threats in Kosovo. They also introduced case models such as the Case of Israel and the Plan of terrorist attacks in North Kosovo (Banjska). The participants were then divided into groups for practical work, and Ms. Fikrije Fejzullahu, Prosecutor in the Special Prosecutor’s Office presented the Prosecution’s role in addressing terrorism and violent extremism cases, including the usage of drones for investigative purposes and supporting the indictments in court.

Labinot Leposhtica, Legal Office and Monitoring Coordinator at BIRN Kosovo, and Arsim Tahiri, Director of Kosovo Probation Service gave presentations on the justice system during the training’s third day. They discussed the lack of communication between courts and the Kosovo Probation Service about final reporting. The speakers highlighted the importance of addressing the post-conditional release of individuals and how dossiers are prepared. Mr. Tahiri focused on the pre-punishment report, which is an official document containing information and evidence gathered from various bodies to help in finding a sentence or an adequate alternative punishment.

During the final day of the training session, the focus was on strategic communication, specifically exploring the communication tactics of terrorist groups. Kreshnik Gashi -Managing Editor at Kallxo.com highlighted that these groups employ concrete methodologies, plans, and strategies that vary depending on the situation and location. Through case studies, it was observed that these organizations have different approaches to communication: utilizing the internet to a greater extent and causing a stir among global media. Furthermore, various techniques of media usage were presented such as live streaming, sending materials to media, spreading narratives of disinformation, and community intimidation.

This training was attended by 26 participants of whom 14 were women. The participants have actively engaged in this training by 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.

Online violence and misogyny against women were among the most widespread subjects in the media during the last few years. The 2023 Women, Peace, and Security – WPS index published by the Oslo Institute for Peace Research, PRIO, which ranks and scores 177 countries based on the status of women, placed Kosovo as the 100th country in the world. Consequently, Kosovo finds itself as the second-worst country in Europe for women to live in.

Media as the main source of information, plays a crucial role in creating a collective perception when reporting about women-related topics. Thus, educating journalists about gender-based reporting and sexism is a step to building an unbiased society in the future.

To address the challenges and to create a more comprehensive and professional reporting, on May 23, 2024, BIRN will organize a one-day training module with journalists, and journalism students on gender-based misinformation and issues related to sexism.

This training will gather 27 young and mid-career journalists and students of journalism from different communities, who will have the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge on reporting on issues related to sexism and to use mechanisms and tools to verify and combat gender-based misinformation.

The training module will be delivered by BIRN’s team of award-winning journalists and editors, who have extensive experience in investigating, reporting on, and advocating for fact-checked journalism and gender-based reporting.

Who can apply?

Young and mid-career journalists, students of journalism from across different regions of Kosovo, interested in learning about reporting on gender-based topics and issues related to sexism are eligible to apply in this call.

With a special focus, applicants from marginalized communities, minority ethnic groups and women who fulfill the above-mentioned criteria are encouraged to apply in the call.

To apply for the training session, please click here.

Language:

Simultaneous translation in Albanian, Serbian, and English will be provided.

Location:

This training will be held in Prishtina, Kosovo. Further information regarding the exact location and agenda, will be provided to chosen candidates only.

Deadline for application: May 14, 2024

Date of the training course: May 23, 2024

*This training activity is supported by the UNMIK.

This interactive meeting gathered 13 residents of the village Gorazdevac near the municipality of Peja, out of which 6 were women. The participants shared their experiences of living in a rural part of Kosovo, by emphasizing the lack of essential living conditions such as a good sanitation system, electricity, and the lack of public institutions including kindergartens and youth centers where their residents conduct activities. Overall, the meeting shed light on a load of problems and poor public services in this area.

More specifically, Visar Prebreza, editor-in-chief at BIRN started this gathering by presenting the topic of the discussion and then invited residents to share their concerns and needs on public services. Residents listed several concerns starting from the lack of safety on the roads, especially around school areas and the lack of sidewalks, the troubles with bills on water and electricity, the lack of a proper sanitation system, and the lack of kindergartens that enroll children younger than 3 years old.

Moreover, Darko Dimitrijevic, the executive director of Radio Gorazdevac raised the problem about being the only media in the area and the difficulties to access the information from local or central institutions regarding open calls for subsidies or grants for citizens of Kosovo in agriculture, economy or other social aids as well as other important announcements from the Kosovo institutions. In addition, residents raised concerns about the exclusion of Serbian language in most of the announcements and official documents from Kosovo institutions.

This activity was implemented as part of the “Addressing the situation with public services in war-affected community of Gorazdevac” project implemented by BIRN Kosovo and Radio Gorazdevac supported by Community Building Mitrovica and the American people through USAID in Kosovo.

More specifically, the training focused on the critical issue of reporting on missing persons, encompassing aspects from individual cases to court proceedings, social, political and legal contexts, forensics and medical expert analysis and the challenges faced by affected families. The technical expertise of journalists lies in their ability to research, document, and communicate stories effectively.

The training module was delivered by BIRN’s regional and local team of award-winning journalists and editors, who have extensive experience in investigating, reporting on, and advocating for such issues.

The first session was held by Kreshnik Gashi – Editor in Chief of KALLXO.com who spoke about safe sources to report on missing persons, treatment of family tragedies based on the Code of tEhics, protection of personal data and the principles of transitional justice in the treatment of missing persons. Gashi emphasized the importance of including every ethnic group when reporting of missing persons in Kosovo. In addition, he talked about the spread of disinformation in the missing persons in Kosovo, by giving examples of fake news and the impact they had on revictimization of families of the missing persons.

The third session was held by Lamija Grebo from BIRN BiH who presented the Practical Handbook on reporting about missing persons in BiH, including the media reporting on persons missing due to 1992 – 1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She also spoke about BIRN’s BiH standards of reporting including empathy, impartiality, victims, and the communication with the families of missing persons.

Grebo also stated that the media must not abandon their socially responsible role, must not only be a carrier but also a change-maker, and must be current and bring important topics such as this one back into focus.

This training was attended by 22 participants of whom 15 were women. The participants engaged in this training by asking questions on how to refer to missing persons when reporting, how to treat the news when they find a corpse of a missing person, and how to treat families of missing persons while reporting on such matters.

The training consisted of four interactive sessions that were designed to address various questions related to oral history methodologies, with a particular focus on the technical aspects such as arranging the interviews and the interviewers, locations, logistics, filming, sounds, lighting, and editing.

In the initial session, attendees were given insights into the technical aspects of recording oral history interviews such as frame selection, lighting, and recording techniques. In the second session, the participants learned more about how to conduct interviews using the method of oral history and, in general, about the techniques for getting good human stories. During the third session, the focus was on improving the quality of written content by exploring techniques for editing and scriptwriting. In the last session, the attendees were able to see several presentations showcasing interviews within the context of exhibitions and memorials.

The trainers, Denis Dzidic, the Executive Director of  BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lamija Grebo, a journalist from BIRN BiH presented thoroughly their experience at the Oral History Memorial project which tells the stories of survivors in Srebrenica. The project ‘The Lives Behind the Fields of Death’ is a valuable example that will serve not only the participants who attended but also BIRN Kosovo’s aim to create such initiatives that commemorate the Kosovo war.

This training was attended by 36 journalist, including 20 women. The participants were engaged and asked a lot of interesting questions, especially about how to interview people and the importance of treating survivors with empathy and understanding. During the screening of interviews with survivors from the project  ‘The Lives Behind the Fields of Death’ the participants had the opportunity to see survivors who not only shared their stories, they also gave belongings of their loved ones, victims of Srebrenica.

The workshop began with a discussion about the participants’ role that they have in the referral mechanism in the South Mitrovica municipality. The workshop examined the principles of strategic communication, covering a wide range of topics including the functioning of the media and other outlets that are critical to strategic communication.

Ten people took part in the workshop, of whom four were women.

The workshop’s trainer, Kreshnik Gashi, managing editor of Kallxo.com, presented the principles of strategic communication. The discussion that followed centered on the practical examples given by Gashi, particularly about the perceptions of post-war returnees.

Gashi noted that the impact of social media platforms on sensitive issues like this cannot be ignored, and so members of the referral mechanism must exercise caution when using social media.

The participants said the workshop was useful so the referral mechanism can be more informed about preventing violent extremism, rehabilitation and reintegration and other methods of combatting extremism that can be used in the South Mitrovica municipality.

The workshop was part of the ‘Resilient Community Programme’ founded by GCERF.

The training session was specifically tailored to cybersecurity and the security of the internet so the members of the referral mechanism could gain a better understanding of the usage of the internet, its benefits, and its risks.

During the training session, the participants were given a detailed presentation that included the usage of the internet from the early stages of internet development until recent developments with the usage of artificial intelligence. The shared information will help the members to mitigate potential risks associated with internet browsing.

A total of 12 participants, three of them women, gathered for this training which started with an introduction to the basics of the Internet. The training was held by Arian Hyseni, IT Manager and Coordinator of the Technical Staff. Hyseni presented his experience in cybersecurity, including advice on how to effectively use the internet and ensure the safety of internet users.

Throughout the training session, the participants exhibited a notable level of interest, particularly in the topic of two-step verification. The trainer delivered valuable lessons on the significance of implementing two-step verification, with a specific emphasis on securing social media profiles with this feature.

This training was held as part of the “Resilient Community Programme” founded by GCERF.