Kosovo Archives - Page 41 of 96

BIRN Regional Meeting Held in Bucharest

Directors, board members, partners and donors of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, met in the Romanian capital Bucharest on June 2-3 for the network’s latest regional meeting of its governing bodies.

At the meeting, the BIRN Network’s activities and achievements in 2017-2018 were presented and the plans for the upcoming period discussed.

The annual Steering Committee meeting and Assembly session were held, and regional social media guidelines were adopted at the event.

In recent times, BIRN has operated in an environment marked by illiberal tendencies in the region, media freedom decline in several countries, captured states, and unresolved issues from the past.

Nevertheless, its online publishing, TV and video production reach growing numbers of people; its journalists have won a number of local and international awards, and its reporting has produced tangible social and political changes.

BIRN’s longstanding donors and partners from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and ERSTE foundation attended the meeting.

BIRN Kosovo Held Grant Information Sessions

BIRN Kosovo held two information sessions on May 24 and 25, one in Prishtina and one in North Mitrovica, to provide clarifications and answer questions from prospective applicants to the ‘Support to Civil Society and Media Initiatives’ project funded by European Union in Kosovo.

The sessions focused specifically on “Contributing to the strengthening of independent, investigative and useful journalism for the public and freedom of expression in Kosovo”.

The most significant objectives of the project are strengthening Kosovo’s media sector to fulfill its role in a democratic environment, improving the internal governance of the Press Council of Kosovo and improving the understanding and enforcement of the law on freedom of information, prosecution, copyright and media-related legislation.

BIRN representatives also provided more information about potential applicants’ requirements in terms of the project’s timeline and budget lines, acceptable and unacceptable activities, covered and non-covered expenses within the project, and application procedures.

With the call for applications for the ‘Support to Civil Society and Media Initiatives’ project, BIRN Kosovo will award about 20 sub-grants divided into small grants and medium grants.

Small grants involve amounts from 2,000 to 5,000 euros for a six-month project implementation period, while medium grants involve amounts from 20,000 to 30,000 euros for a 12-month project implementation period.

For further details and information about the project, follow this link: https://birn.eu.com/news-and-events/call-for-proposals-for-the-eu-funded-project/

Call for Proposals Aimed To Strengthen Independent Journalism

Call for Proposals for the EU Funded Project

“Contribute to strengthening independent, investigative and publicly beneficial journalism and freedom of expression in Kosovo”

BIRN and AJK have joined forces in implementing the EU Funded Project “Contribute to strengthening independent, investigative and publicly beneficial journalism and freedom of expression in Kosovo”. This Call for Proposals is one of the project’s components which aims to provide opportunities for local NGOs/CSOs, including journalists, operating and working in Kosovo, to tackle the issues related to media freedoms and freedom of expression in their respective communities. Specifically, the given scheme seeks to develop not only independent, investigative, impartial, unbiased and publicly beneficial journalism in Kosovo, but also equip its beneficiaries with the required skills and resources to move beyond protocol journalism and delve into creative, investigative, legally-sound and publicly beneficial journalism.

This Call for Proposals contains two lots:

LOT I: Supporting document-based reporting on themes related to good governance, education, healthcare, economy and human rights and encourage access to public documents.

LOT II: Improving internal governance of the PCK and/or its members organizations in respecting labor law, respecting copyright and applying best standards of media legislation.

The applications MUST be sent by e-mail to [email protected] by 08.06.2018, at 16:00.

Thirrje për Propozime për Projekt të Financuar nga BE

“Kontribut në forcimin e gazetarisë së pavarur, hulumtuese dhe të dobishme për publikun, si dhe në lirinë e shprehjes në Kosovë”

BIRN dhe AGK kanë bashkuar forcat në zbatimin e projektit të financuar nga BE-ja “Kontribut në forcimin e gazetarisë së pavarur, hulumtuese dhe të dobishme për publikun, si dhe në lirinë e shprehjes në Kosovë”. Kjo Thirrje për Propozime është një nga komponentët e projektit që ka për qëllim të ofrojnë mundësi për OJQ/OSHC-të lokale, përfshirë gazetarët që veprojnë dhe punojnë në Kosovë, për të trajtuar çështjet që kanë të bëjnë me lirinë e medias dhe lirinë e shprehjes në komunitetet e tyre përkatëse. Konkretisht, skema e ofruar mëton të zhvillojë jo vetëm një gazetari të pavarur, hulumtuese, të paanshme, joparagjykuese dhe në të mirë të publikut, por gjithashtu t’i pajisë përfituesit e saj me shkathtësitë dhe resurset e nevojshme për të lëvizur përtej gazetarisë së protokollit dhe për të hyrë në gazetarinë krijuese, hulumtuese dhe në të mirë publike .

Kjo Thirrje për Propozime përmban dy llote:

LLOTI I: Mbështetja e raportimit të bazuar në dokumente mbi temat që kanë të bëjnë me qeverisjen e mirë, arsimin, shëndetësinë, ekonominë dhe të drejtat e njeriut dhe inkurajimi i qasjes në dokumente publike.

LLOTI II: Përmirësimi i qeverisjes së brendshme të KMSHK dhe/ose organizatave anëtarëve të saj në respektimin e ligjit të punës, duke respektuar të drejtën e autorit dhe zbatuar standardet më të mira të legjislacionit të medias.

Aplikacionet DUHET të dërgohen me postë elektronike në adresën [email protected] deri më 08.06.2018, ora 16:00.

Poziv za predloge za projekat koji finansira EU

“Doprinos jačanju nezavisnog, istraživačkog i novinarstva od javne koristi i slobode izražavanja na Kosovu”

BIRN i UNK su udružili snage u sprovođenju projekta koji finansira EU “Doprinos jačanju nezavisnog, istraživačkog i novinarstva od javne koristi i slobode izražavanja na Kosovu” Ovaj Poziv za predloge je jedna od komponenti projekta koja ima za cilj pružanje prilika NVO/OCD-ima, uključujući novinare koji deluju i rade na Kosovu u borbi protiv pitanja koja se odnose na slobodu medija i slobodu izražavanja u svojim zajednicama. Posebno, navedena shema pokušava da razvije ne samo nezavisno, istraživačko, objektivno i novinarstvo od javne koristi na Kosovu, nego i korisnicima pruži odgovarajuće veštine i resurse za prevazilaženje protokolskog novinarstva i udube se u kreativno, istraživačko, zakonski opravdano i novinarstvo od javne koristi.

Ovaj Poziv za ponude sadrži dva lota:

LOT I: Podrška izveštavanju zasnovanom na dokumentima o temama koje se odnose na dobro upravljanje, obrazovanje, privredu i ljudska prava i ohrabrivanje uvida u javna dokumenta.

LOT II: Poboljšanje unutrašnjeg upravljanja SŠM i/ili članica organizacija u poštovanju zakona o radu, poštovanju autorskih prava i primeni najboljih standarda u medijskom zakonodavstvu.

Prijave se MORAJU poslati e-mailom na [email protected] do 08.06.2018. u 16.00

BIRN Cited in International Reports

Monitoring reports produced by BIRN and articles published in its regional publication Balkan Insight continue to be quoted in international reports about media, human rights and politics in the region.

Freedom House’s annual country reports for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, published in Nations in Transit 2018 under the title ‘Confronting Illiberalism’ in April this year, quote Balkan Insight articles on transitional justice, inter-ethnic relations, politics, the economy and the situation in the media

The Media Sustainability Index for 2017 published by IREX in May, in its Europe and Eurasia section, mentions BIRN when describing the media situation in the region, specifically media freedom, lawsuits against media organisations and journalists, as well as BIRN’s reporting on corruption and its training programmes.

The US State Department report for 2017 on human rights in Albania, published in April, quotes BIRN Albania’s research about media censorship in the country. The report also mentions that in 2017 a member of the High Council of Justice, Gjin Gjoni, filed defamation lawsuits against two BIRN journalists and two journalists from Shqiptarja.com for their coverage of his asset declaration, which was being investigated by prosecutors.

In the Media Landscape – Serbia report, published by the European Journalism Centre in May, the results of the Media Ownership Monitor carried out by BIRN and Reporters without Borders Germany, as well as articles related to media published by Balkan Insight, are quoted throughout the.

BIRN Articles Quoted in International Reports

BIRN Cited as Source in International Reports

BBC and Al Jazeera English release BIRN-backed documentaries

The BBC and Al Jazeera English have produced investigative documentaries in recent months working alongside BIRN’s in-house investigative team.

BIRN has collaborated with the BBC and Al Jazeera English in recent months to investigate the far-right in the Balkans and a secretive arms pipeline to Syria.

The Al Jazeera English probe built on BIRN and OCCRP’s award-winning series of investigations, Making a Killing http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/page/balkan-arms-trade, which delved into how Balkan weapons were flooding the Syrian battlefields.

The “America’s Guns: Secret Pipeline to Syria” documentary was first broadcast in March on Al Jazeera’s People and Power show and involved filming in Croatia, Bulgaria and the US.

The report brought BIRN’s findings to a wider audience, revealed the human cost of the scramble to train and equip US-backed Syrian militia. BIRN published two articles on the back of the research: Death in Bulgaria: Pentagon Contractor’s Widow Fights For Truth and US Splurges More Cash on Balkans Arms for Syria.

On May 1, the BBC and BIRN published the fruits of its collaboration into the British nationalists operating in the Balkans. The BBC produced television and radio documentaries focussing on “the invisible man of Britain’s far right” – Jim Dowson – and his activities in Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and Kosovo: Is this Britain’s most influential far-right activist?

BIRN released its own investigation, focussing on how Jim Dowson and an organisation he is closely linked to are increasingly active in Serbia: British Nationalist Trains Serb Far-Right for ‘Online War.

As part of the research, BIRN also employed a cyber forensic expert Andrej Petrovski of the Share Foundation, who is helping journalists improve their investigations by using cutting edge technologies.

These collaborations are part of BIRN’s Paper Trail to Better Governance programme, funded by the Austrian Development Agency.

BIRN Kosovo Reports on Progress of Corruption Cases

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Internews Kosova, for 12 years, have monitored the Kosovo judicial system at all levels in order to assess its performance in respecting legality, work ethics and judicial proceedings.

The monitoring also included cases targeted for visa liberalisation in all court instances where the judicial procedure takes place. In order to have a situation analysis on the fulfillment of the second criterion for visa liberalization, BIRN and Internews Kosova drafted a report with detailed data on the status of the targeted cases.

Download the Full Report
English | Shqip

Court Monitoring Report 2017

For 12 years, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Internews Kosovo have monitored the Kosovo judicial system at all levels in order to assess their performance in respecting legality, work ethics and judicial proceedings.

A particular focus of this report is on corruption cases, including criminal offenses that are of interest to society, monitored during 2017, but it also addresses other issues observed during the work of monitors in the field. Moreover, the report highlights procedural violations by judges, prosecutors and other parties during court proceedings, observed by court monitors in courts of the Republic of Kosovo. The report contains procedural violations, ranging from failure to hold court hearings, changing of witness statements, failure to schedule court hearings, unreasonable delays in trials, failure to comply with the legal deadlines for the initial hearing, holding trials without the presence of the accused, disorder at trial, poor preparation of prosecutors for the trial, and failure to hold hearings due to the lack of court interpreters as one of the basic principles of justice, for trials to be in a language that is known and spoken by the defendant in the proceedings.

Read report in English

Court Monitoring Report 2016

On May 8th, 2017, BIRN and Internews Kosova marked a decade of monitoring Kosovo’s judicial system with the launch of the 2016 Court Monitoring Report.

This project has been implemented for ten years now, and each year it has provided an overview of the situation in Kosovo’s justice system and has offered recommendations on how to increase transparency and accountability at all levels of the system.

This year’s report reflects the monitoring of 600 court hearings across 26 courts in the country throughout 2016, including basic courts, the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeal. Panel participants included BIRN Kosovo Director Jeta Xharra, Internews Kosova Executive Director Faik Ispahiu, Chief Prosecutor Aleksandër Lumezi, as well as representatives from the Supreme Court, the Prosecutorial Council, and the Judicial Council.

Read report in English

Between Pressures and Praises – BIRN Network Annual Report 2017

In 2017, BIRN Network operated in an environment of declining media freedoms and unregulated media markets, where authorities and pro-governmental media outlets pressured members of the Network and its journalists; nevertheless, BIRN received national and international prizes as well as different kinds of informal praise.

An unfavourable media situation and the lack of proper cooperation with institutions—sometimes even hostile attitude towards BIRN—occasionally hinders the work of the organisation. However, through this report, we also underscore the best results of BIRN’s work, including the praise it has received.

The report shows what the organisation did to offer high quality journalistic work and to provide citizens with reliable, timely and in-depth reporting as well as BIRN’s contribution to improving media freedom and openness of public institutions. It also highlights the instances in which BIRN’s work had a strong political and social impact, showing that—despite difficulties—professional journalistic reporting can conclude in tangible results.

The whole report is available here [link].

BIRN Kosovo Holds Discussion with Multi-Ethnic Journalists

BIRN Kosovo organised a discussion on April 11 in Gracanica, bringing together journalists from various ethnic communities in Kosovo – Albanian, Serb, Bosnian – with the aim of increasing cooperation between them.

During the discussion, speakers said that one of the main problems they face on a daily basis is the lack of knowledge of other communities’ languages.

The journalists also noted that they do not know each other in person, and said that this would improve their cooperation and eliminate any so-called “fear” of one another.

Petrit Çollaku from the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) said that the situation in terms of cooperation is currently stagnant.

He suggested that Serb journalists should visit Pristina frequently, in order to get acquainted with the social and political problems of Kosovo.

This is the second consecutive year that this project has been organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, supported by the European Union Office in Kosovo.