Tag: Kosovo

Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD)

DONOR
The Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD) is an initiative that supports democracy, good governance, and Euroatlantic integration in Southeastern Europe.

This award-winning public-private partnership was created in 2003 by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. BTD’s original ten-year mandate came to an end in May 2013. BTD then entered into its second mandate (2013-20) with structural changes to geographic coverage and grantmaking scope.

The Balkan Trust for Democracy operates with a small, experienced staff that actively seeks out and incorporates expertise from a wide variety of partners. These experts, along with GMF staff, make up the grantmaking committee that reviews proposals to ensure that BTD’s programs are effective, responsive to local needs, and complementary to other initiatives supported by the international community.

An Advisory Board of experts from Southeastern Europe and key international organisations guides the Balkan Trust for Democracy’s strategic development.

BTD is structured to allow both European and U.S. partners to join the effort to strengthen transatlantic cooperation in the Balkans. Since its founding, additional contributions from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Belgrade, Compagnia di San Paolo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Robert Bosch Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and Tipping Point Foundation have made BTD a true transatlantic partnership.

Web: http://www.gmfus.org/program/balkan-trust-democracy

Free Press Unlimited, FPU

DONOR
Free Press Unlimited works to ensure that reliable news and information are and remain available to people across the globe, especially in the countries struggling with freedom of press.

By supporting local media professionals and journalists, Free Press Unlimited helps to enable as many people as
possible to gain and keep access to the information they require to survive and develop.

Free Press Unlimited is active in over forty countries, in those areas where its help is needed the most. In these areas, Free Press Unlimited focuses on strengthening the capacity of local media professionals and media organisations. Together with these partners, we create room for people to speak freely, debate social issues and find out what is going on in their immediate environment.

In each area, FPU works together with local journalists, media pioneers and media organisations – which can make a difference. Free Press Unlimited supports these change agents in the development of their knowledge and skills.

Free Press Unlimited supports BIRN Kosovo’s research, publication and training programmes with a focus on Gazeta Jeta ne Kosove.

Access: Website

Institute for Advanced Studies (GAP)

PARTNER
The Institute for Advanced Studies is a Kosovo think tank organisation.

A priority of the institute is to mobilise professionals to address the country’s pressing economic, political and social challenges.

GAP partners with BIRN Kosovo on the following programmes:
-Media Production
-Research and publications

Together with BIRN Kosovo, GAP Institute is part of the Kosovo Civil Society Consortium for Sustainable Development (KOSID).

Web: http://www.institutigap.org/

International Visegrad Fund

DONOR
The International Visegrad Fund is an international organisation based in Bratislava founded by the governments of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Poland, and the Slovak Republic, in Štiřín, Czech Republic, on June 9, 2000.

The purpose of the fund is to facilitate and promote the development of closer cooperation among citizens and institutions in the region as well as between the V4 region and other countries, especially the Western Balkans and countries of the Eastern Partnership.

The fund does so through grant support of common cultural, scientific and educational projects, youth exchanges, cross-border projects and tourism promotion, and through individual mobility programs (scholarships, residencies).

BIRN Kosovo

Since BIRN Kosovo sees it vital to deal with sustainable development issues in Kosovo the project “Sustainable economy and environment for sustainable development in Kosovo” supported by International Visegrad Fund will serve as a valuable tool to identify economic problems in Kosovo.

Moreover, the foreign partners of this project will offer their important insights on the economic and environmental aspects of their countries, as key features of the Visegrad alliance. These will serve as comparison points to the situation in Kosovo, a country vying for EU accession, for the purposes of televised reports to be produced.

Web: http://visegradfund.org/

Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK

PARTNER
RTK is Kosovo’s public service broadcaster. It includes a television service – broadcast on the terrestrial transmitter network and digital satellite – and two radio stations. RTK television is the market leader and is watched by 92.1 percent of the population.

RTK is committed to fair, balanced and accurate news and information and to serving all the communities of Kosovo. RTK is led by a Director General who is answerable to a non-political Board of Directors.

RTK partners with BIRN Kosovo on the Media Production programme; the public network broadcasts BIRN Kosovo’s Life in Kosovo and Justice in Kosovo weekly televised programmes.

Web: www.rtklive.com

The Advocacy Training and Resource Center (ATRC)

PARTNER
The Advocacy Training and Resource Center is based on the belief that an informed citizenry is the key to a democratic society.

Based in Prishtina, ATRC trains and assists NGOs in Kosovo to professionalise their work. ATRC works to help NGOs in Kosovo to engage in successful advocacy and to strengthen cooperation and the exchange of information and resources among them.

Web: http://www.advocacy-center.org/

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

DONOR
The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) is a government agency working on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, with the mission to reduce poverty in the world. Through their work and in cooperation with others, they contribute to implementing Sweden’s Policy for Global Development (PGU).

They work in order to implement the Swedish development policy that will enable poor people to improve their lives. Another part of their mission is conducting reform cooperation with Eastern Europe, which is financed through a specific appropriation. The third part of their assignment is to distribute humanitarian aid to people in need of assistance.

Sida carries out enhanced development cooperation with a total of 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. The selection of cooperation countries is based on political decisions made by the Swedish government.

Sida’s mission is to allocate aid and other funding. Their operations are managed by the government’s guidelines, describing the goals for each year’s operations and the size of the development aid budget.

Three thematic priorities determine the direction of Swedish development cooperation and all interventions should relate to them. Those are democracy and human rights, environment and climate, and gender equality and women’s role in development.

In the period 2015-2019 Sida provides core support to BIRN Hub for implementing cross-regional programmes and enhancing the capacity of the Network.

Web: http://www.sida.se/English/

Paper Trail for Better Governance I and II

BIRN Kosovo

The Paper Trail Investigations is a project by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Kosovo and BIRN HUB – to promote the rule of law, accountability and transparency in the Balkans and Moldova.

Summary

The Paper Trail Investigations is a project by Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Kosovo and BIRN HUB – to promote the rule of law, accountability, and transparency in the Balkans and Moldova.

Information Sheet

Main Objective:
Contribute to better functioning of the public sector that abides by principles of transparency and accountability to its citizens which will in the long-term contribute to human security to the whole South-Eastern Europe/Danube Region.

Purpose of the program: Exposing wrongdoings of the governments, public and private companies, as well as individuals, through the promotion of the rule of law, accountability and transparency

Specific Objectives: 

Exposing wrongdoings of public institutions, public or private companies, and individuals, through multimedia investigations, in-depth analysis of institutions’ openness to freedom of information requests, and the establishment of an online database.

Main Activities:

  1. Implementing investigative projects.
  2. Two televised debates and reports produced and broadcasted.
  3. Cross-border report on institutions’ compliance with Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation.
  4. Creating an online, searchable database of documents obtained using FoI legislation in each country.
  5. Workshops and on-the-job training for journalists.

Target Groups:

The main target group of the project consists of investigative journalists, researchers, journalists from other media and public in general in the region and worldwide.
Highlights:
The programme is focused on five key themes which are critical for good governance in the region – energy, road building, the financial sector, the influx of money from the Middle East and the arms industry.

Through the extensive use of public documents, the investigations are exposing wrongdoing in government, public and private companies and among powerful individuals.

The project also addresses the transparency of public institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Moldova.

As part of our drive for openness, we have also established a free, user-friendly, searchable online library of public documents and scraped databases, BIRN Source.

Working with some of the biggest names in international journalism, BIRN has produced dozens of hard-hitting investigations which are reshaping the public perceptions of their governments, business elites, and journalism.

Nataliya Apostolova Urges Kosovo Law Students to Vote at a Forum Organized by BIRN Kosovo

On May 30th, students from the University of Prishtina’s, UP, Faculty of Law engaged in a discussion with the Head of EU Office in Kosovo, Nataliya Apostolova, moderated by BIRN Kosovo Executive Director Jeta Xharra. 

During the discussion, Apostolova provided a comprehensive overview of the relationship between Kosovo and the EU. She also congratulated Kosovo on its continuous commitment to advancing its path towards EU integration.  

Apostolova, a firm believer that education remains a key driver of a democratic state’s long-term competiveness and growth, said that Kosovo should focus on improving the quality of education. Students presented their concerns about Kosovo’s current situation as one of the most isolated citizenship regimes in the world in terms of freedom of movement. Apostolova responded by highlighting the importance of visa liberalization for Kosovo’ citizens, and she confirmed the EU’s full support on further advancing this process. However, she noted that Kosovo should fulfill the remaining criteria, including the finalization of the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, which is a condition for visa liberalization. The EU remains committed to Kosovo’s European future, she emphasized, and the EU is eager to see Kosovo seize this opportunity.

The guest speaker urged the participants to make use of their fundamental right to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections.  It remains within the citizens’ responsibility, Apostolova said, to uphold Kosovo’s democracy by casting their choices for the political leaders. The failure to vote, she continued, not only implies consent to the existing public officeholders’ governance, but also equates to forfeiture of any right to complain about the current government officials, regardless of how incompetent or corrupt they might be.

The interactive debate was part of BIRN Kosovo’s series of forums organized in collaboration with the UP Faculty of Law.

 

 

BIRN Kosovo Organizes a Discussion between Law Students and the Head of EULEX

On May 25th, law students in Kosovo enjoyed an interactive discussion with Alexandra Papadopoulou, the Head of European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, at a forum organized by BIRN Kosovo in collaboration with the University of Prishtina’s Faculty of Law. 

Alexandra Papadopoulou delivered her opening remarks to a welcoming audience, which included future lawyers, prosecutors, and judges. During the discussion, which was moderated by BIRN Kosovo Executive Director Jeta Xhara, Papadopoulou presented her remarks on the current state affairs, including the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kosovo.

Shortly after providing the audience with a brief introduction on EULEX’s mission in Kosovo, Papadopoulou applauded the students and noted that she was delighted to have been invited to chat with such a promising bunch of young people. Students raised questions of various natures, and specifically were interested to know more about EULEX’s current mandate and its role in strengthening the rule of law in Kosovo.

Considering that Kosovo’s general parliamentary elections are rapidly approaching, Papadopoulou urged students to exercise their civic right to vote; since Kosovo’s young voters account for a large portion of the voting population, the youth vote is seen as a driving force for affecting political change.

A functional democratic society, she noted, is attained through citizens’ active participation, including that of the younger generations. It is the citizens’ responsibility to hold their leaders accountable, she declared, and all citizens should not neglect the importance of voting and its power to initiate change.