Tag: Kosovo

The workshop addressed the current situation with terrorism and violent extremism in Kosovo, the National Strategy for Preventing and Countering Terrorism, and the principles of strategic communication including the role of members of the referral mechanism in addressing and working with PVE and R&R topics in Kosovo.

Eight participants, five of them women, attended the workshop to discuss the national strategy, action plan and strategic communication.

Lead trainer Kreshnik Gashi, Managing Editor of Kallxo.com, gave an overview of the current situation with PVE and R&R in Kosovo, giving a historical background that included the role of disinformation and propaganda among citizens, which later resulted in hundreds of Kosovo citizens joining foreign conflicts.

He continued by explaining the role of the national strategy and its strategic communication among officials, emphasising that officials who work on this topic must have sensitivity and confidentiality and find correct ways of defining and addressing a specific group.

The participants posed questions about the impact of ethnonationalism and right-wing ideologies and the concrete role of the referral mechanism as a chain of actions in which all the members of the team should be clear on their roles and contribute actively.

This workshop was part of the “Resilient Community Programme” founded by GCERF.

This initiative, organized by USAID’s Justice Activity in Kosovo in collaboration with BIRN Kosovo, focused on equipping participants with the skills needed for accurate, fact-based reporting.

The program commenced at the Palace of Justice with insightful remarks from key figures including the President of the Judicial Council of Kosovo and the President of the Basic Court in Prishtina. They highlighted the pivotal role of journalists in upholding the integrity of judicial reporting. The session was moderated by a well-known local journalist.

Throughout the five-day course, participants engaged in a rigorous curriculum aimed at deepening their understanding of the justice system. Key components included:

Institutional Visits: Participants toured significant judicial institutions, such as the Basic Court of Prishtina and the Kosovo Judicial Council, to gain direct knowledge of legal procedures and administrative functions.

Misinformation Identification: Sessions focused on recognizing and addressing common disinformation narratives. Experts explained how misinformation is funded and propagated within the justice system.

Fact-Checking Standards: The program provided practical training on international fact-checking standards and advanced search techniques to enhance the accuracy of reporting.

Technology and Disinformation: Discussions covered the role of technology in spreading disinformation and how to leverage tech tools for more reliable journalism.

Data and Reporting: Participants learned about data verification practices and how to handle disinformation related to civil and commercial cases. They also explored how to report on sensitive issues such as domestic violence and judicial performance.

The final day of the Summer School included sessions on navigating open data platforms and ensuring the protection of personal data. This comprehensive training aimed to bolster the participants’ ability to report accurately and responsibly on complex justice-related issues.

This Summer School brought together journalists from various media outlets and NGOs, fostering a collaborative environment that promotes higher standards of journalism. The skills and knowledge gained are expected to enhance the quality of reporting and contribute to greater public trust in Kosovo’s justice system.

In conclusion, USAID’s Justice Activity in Kosovo’s Summer School has successfully empowered journalists with the tools to combat misinformation and improve the accuracy of justice reporting. By addressing the challenges of disinformation and enhancing fact-based reporting, this initiative plays a crucial role in fostering transparency and accountability within the justice system.

The report finds significant shortcomings, particularly in the Judicial Council and State Prosecutor’s Office, which lacked centralized platforms for archiving war crimes cases. Many institutional publications and political speeches predominantly mentioned victims of one ethnicity, neglecting others. This study identified deficiencies in Kosovo’s institutional approach to transitional justice and historical memory.

The panel discussions which consisted of representatives from institutions, international organisations and civil society, were followed by comments and questions by a very active and interested audience which was very keen to delve more in details regarding the data produced by this report.

Among many things discussed and on the importance of such reports in the field of transitional justice and its processes in Kosovo the Minister of Justice – Albulena Haxhiu noted that “there has never been any documentation of war crimes in Kosovo and as a result today when we talk about war crimes there are different reports that speak with different statistics”.

Recommendations from the report include establishing comprehensive databases of war victims, reviewing and standardizing online content, and enhancing transparency in judicial processes, including archiving trials from UNMIK and EULEX. The report also emphasized the need for structured and validated databases, standardized publication practices, and improved transparency in documenting and archiving judicial processes related to war crimes. The report underscored the importance of inclusivity and accuracy in historical narratives and memorialization efforts across Kosovo’s public institutions.

This event was attended by 82 participants of whom 38 were women. The participants came from different backgrounds including victim groups, practitioners, public officials, representatives of diplomatic missions, members of civil society, students, activists, and youth.

This activity falls under the project ‘Dealing with conflict legacy in Kosovo’, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office through the British Embassy in Pristina and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and implemented by BIRN Kosovo.

To download a copy of the report in English, click here.
To download a copy of the report in Albanian, click here.
To download a copy of the report in Serbian, click here.

Six participants, three of whom were women, took part in this workshop. The first session, presented by Iliria Kajdomqaj, Projects coordinator at BIRN Kosovo, began with an introduction to the field of transitional justice and a deeper examination of its major concepts and principles contextualizing it with the global perspective of case studies such as East Timor, South Africa, Rwanda, and the Balkans. The session continued with the political and historical context of the conflict in Kosovo.

The second session focused on the importance of memorialization with an emphasis on the museums, memorial complexes, revision of history books, curriculua and cultural exchanges, presented by Kreshnik Gashi, managing editor at Kallxo.com.

The workshop covered the integration of approaches and perspectives from disciplines such as Law and Political Science and sensitivities and complexities were emphasized.

A significant part of the workshop involved analyzing the proposed research topics of the grantees, offering initial comments and suggestions on their research direction to maximize the outcome of the final papers.

Also present at the workshop were Vehbi Selmani and Teresa Lazzaroni Andina, representatives from UNDP. The grantees were active in discussions, sharing their perspectives and experiences related to the topic. The presentation and subsequent discussions served to enhance their knowledge of this topic, resulting in a more informed group of individuals by the end of the session.

This activity falls under the project “Dealing with conflict legacy in Kosovo”, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office through the British Embassy in Pristina and the United Nations Development Program, UNDP, implemented by BIRN Kosovo.

Intending to increase public trust in the justice system in Kosovo, the Activity initiated the Fact-Checking project. This project combats misinformation and disinformation about the justice system while educating the wider public on the impacts of false information and the importance of factual reporting.

The Activity invites all Kosovo journalists to be part of the summer school on misinformation within the justice system, which will take place on July 18-22 2024.

Through training by professionals, lectures, and public discussions with the justice system practitioners, the program envisages participants to become equipped with the knowledge and skills to report only based on facts and not fall prone to mis/disinformation.

The program will equip the participants with the necessary skills to fact-check and identify sources of financing disinformation.

The program will include various speakers and trainers who will share insights on various elements of civil legislation in Kosovo.

The program will include field visits, including visits to courts, archives, and different institutions of the justice system.

The program will be hosted by professional fact-checking editors of BIRN Kosovo.

Organizational details: The costs of accommodation and transport shall be covered for all participants.

Who can apply:

Journalists, digital media reporters, media professionals, fact-checkers, and media lawyers who are citizens of Kosovo.

How to apply?

Documents required for the application:

• CV
• Expression of interest of up to 300 words

Applicants should submit their applications with the subject “Application for Summer School on Dis/misinformation within the Justice System” at [email protected]. The deadline for submission is on July 8, 2024.

Date of the Summer School: Based on a training curriculum, the program will be held for five working days from July 18 to July 22, 2024.

Location: The main activities of the program will be carried out in Pristina, however study visits in other municipalities will also be part of the agenda.

All participants will be provided with certificates of participation after attending the whole program for five days.

 

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.