Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
BIRN’s “Life in Kosovo” has been recognized for reporting on women in a TV programme.
Jeta Xharra, director of BIRN Kosovo, won first prize for TV journalism in an award given by UN women and the group Security and Gender Equality.
The award recognized Xharra for programme dedicated to Kosovo film director Blerta Zeqiri. This prize was given at the opening of a 16-day camapaign against gender-based violence, which concludes on December 10.
Bardh Shkreli, a journalist for BIRN Kosovo, has won a third-place award in November from the German Society for International Cooperation, GIZ and the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo for education reporting.
Shkreli’s story, “University of Pristina with no invention”, examines why the public university has not patented any innovations since its founding in 1970. The story appeared on BIRN Kosovo’s portal, GazetaJNK.
Kaltrina Rexhepi, a journalist for the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Kosovo, has won first prize in awards for reporting on poverty given by the United Nations Kosovo Team and the Association of Professional Journalists of Kosovo.
Rexhepi’s video report, ‘Collective Apartments in Magura Have No Access to Water’, published on BIRN Kosovo’s online portal, GazetaJNK, explores how 22 families in a public apartment in Magura, a village in the Lipjan municipality, have not had running water suitable for drinking or bathing for the past seven years.
In the report, the Institute of Public Health tells GazetaJNK that the health of the villagers is at risk; however, the authorities have not taken any action to provide them with water.
In 2013, GazetaJNK began publishing video reports in addition to text-based articles.
On September 20, GAP Institute in cooperation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, published reports about the region of Anamorava, which includes the municipalities of Gjilan, Viti, Kamenica, Partes, Kllokot, Ranilug and Novoberda.
The reports show real problems facing municipalities that are directly related to the local governments’ actions. Each report provides an overview of trends in the last years’ budget and the estimates for 2014-16.
These reports identify 46 problems in 142 different locations in seven municipalities. They also emphasize areas in which municipalities should focus, such as protection and maintenance.
“BIRN has created a network of people who investigate on a daily basis and try to identify current problems of the respective municipalities. However, we start with the premise that no one is more familiar than the population with the problems of the municipality,” said Erlina Tafa, an investigative journalist at BIRN. Tafa also suggested that residents report problems at BIRN’s portal kallxo.com, so they can be discussed at municipal debates, which will be aired on “Life in Kosovo” in October.
In the upcoming days, GAP and BIRN will publish similar reports for Prizren, Mitrovica, Peja, Ferizaj and Prishtina. These reports will be delivered personally to all the mayoral candidates in Kosovo.
A keni botuar storie të suksesshme falë materialeve të marra në bazë të Ligjit për Qasje në Dokumente Publike?
BIRN-i dëshiron të shpërblejë materialisht gazetarët që kanë shfrytëzuar dokumente të tilla për përgatitjen e artikujve të tyre.
BIRN-i ofron çmimin kryesor prej 1000 eurosh për shkrimin më të mirë të gazetarisë hulumtuese që është realizuar duke përdorur dokumente publike të nxjerra nga institucionet. Për fituesit e vendit të dytë janë paraparë 700 euro, ndërsa çmimi i tretë ka vlerën e 300 eurove.
Në këtë mënyrë BIRN-i dëshiron t’i përkrahë gazetarët, ngase ata janë në vijën e parë të frontit të luftës për transparencë në institucionet qeveritare. Kjo luftë është e vështirë. Një raport i kohëve të fundit, i publikuar nga BIRN-i, ka zbuluar se kërkesat e parashtruara në bazë të Ligjit për Qasje në Dokumente Publike janë realizuar në vetëm 30 për qind të rasteve.
Andaj, shkrimi i storieve në bazë të dokumenteve publike të nxjerra ligjërisht, kërkon shumë punë dhe shumë kujdes. Madje edhe nëse kërkesat për dokumente publike nuk përmbushen, vetë akti i presionit mbi institucionet për të zbatuar obligimet e tyre ligjore përbën një vegël të rëndësishme në promovimin e kulturës së transparencës.
Nëse mëtohen përmirësime të theksuara në cilësinë e qeverisjes në Kosovë, duke filluar nga shpenzimet më efektive të parasë publike, deri te luftimi më i efektshëm i korrupsionit, është i domosdoshëm vëzhgimi më intensiv, më inteligjent dhe më i gjerë i punës së sektorit publik.
BIRN-i do të shqyrtojë storiet në shtyp, televizion, radio ose internet, të publikuara në mediume kosovare mes datave 1 gusht 2012 dhe 31 korrik 2013.
Storiet mund të jenë të shkruara në shqip, serbisht ose anglisht. Materialet e siguruara në bazë të Ligjit për Qasje në Dokumente Publike duhet të jenë kyçe për hetimet e kryera për nevoja të këtyre storieve.
Konkurruesit duhet të paraqesin edhe një deklaratë të shkurtër, prej jo më shumë se 800 fjalësh, në të cilën në detaje përshkruajnë se si e kanë shfrytëzuar Ligjin për Qasje në Dokumente Publike gjatë përgatitjes së stories dhe se si materialet e siguruara përmes këtij ligji kanë qenë thelbësore për këtë storie.
Çdo material i paraqitur në konkurs do të shqyrtohet nga një panel i gazetarëve me përvojë.
Për të marrë pjesë në këtë konkurs, konkurrentët duhet të dorëzojnë storien origjinale dhe deklaratën me shkrim, jo më vonë se deri më 20 shtator 2013 në [email protected]. Storiet në radio dhe televizion duhet të paraqiten në formën origjinale të emituar dhe të kenë të bashkëngjitur edhe transkriptin e raportit të emituar.
BIRN-i do t’i shpallë fituesit më 28 shtator 2013, në Ditën Ndërkombëtare të së Drejtës për të Ditur.
The Roma Ashkali and Egyptian, RAE, community in Kosovo has a new radio station, with the establishment of Prosperiteti in Gjakova.
BIRN Kosovo played a role in the establishment of Prosperiteti, which will be streamed online, by organising meetings and trainings.
Lendrit Qeli, who runs Prosperiteti and attended BIRN’s training, said the station will benefit the community greatly.
“There will be topics to raise the community awareness in the municipality and at the same time we will do promotions that until now did not have the opportunity to get promoted through other mediums,” Qeli said.
Prosperiteti received donations from the Gjakova municipality and the Italian organisations IPSIA and CELIM MILAN.
The protection of the journalists’ sources is largely weak in Kosovo. To further discuss this issue the “Rubikon” TV programme invited representatives from the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Vetevendosje, media outlets and BIRN. The representative of BIRN was Flutura Kusari.
Considering the difficulties that journalists face because of the absence of the law of protecting the sources of information, BIRN together with ARTICLE 19, a London-based human rights organization, drafted a law that will serve as a protection for these sources.
The draft law was sent to the parliament and BIRN publically asked MPs to adopt the law since it is crucial for freedom of speech and expression.
Kosovo’s public institutions are largely failing to implement the 2010 law on Access to Public Documents, BIRN Kosovo concluded in a report released June 29.
Report, titled “The State is 30 Per Cent Accessible to Citizens,” is the culmination of a year-and-a-half of monitoring of public institutions to examine the implementation of the law.
Concluding that government institutions respond to only 30 per cent of official requests, the report found that the Prime Minister Office is the least transparent institution.
Gresa Musliu, a BIRN Kosovo researcher, presenting the report to Kosovo’s media, noted that only 100 of 300 official requests to government institutions received positive responses. In the case of 100 requests to the prime minister’s office, fewer than 30 were responded to.
In one case, when BIRN requested access to spending reports from official trips, the Prime Minister’s office refused on the grounds that the reports could reveal diets, and thus expose confidential health information. As a result, BIRN Kosovo has sued the Prime Minister’s office.
Musliu singled out the Agency for Protection of Personal Data, whose opinion was used to justify the Prime Minister’s Office decision not to disclose the trip reports, as contributing to a lack of government transparency.
“This agency presents risk for transparency, because since the establishment it is allegedly finding reasons to justify the lack of transparence of the legal institutions,” Musliu said.
The least transparent institutions include: the municipality of Prishtina, Kosovo Cadastral Agency, Prosecutorial Council and Judicial Council of Kosovo. While, among the transparent institutions are: Business Registration Agency in Kosovo, the Office of the General Auditor, and the Anti-Corruption Agency.
This report contains an exact template for writing official requests and also specific examples of requests sent by BIRN to the public institutions. Moreover, it provides recommendations for the public institutions and the citizens who want to have access to public documents.
Please see the full report here: PDF
The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 as the World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press. To discuss the freedom of press in Kosovo “Rubikon” TV programme invited representatives from Association of Professional Journalists in Kosovo, media commission from the parliament, Radio Television of Kosovo, and BIRN – represented by Flutura Kusari.
The main issue discussed was the transparency of institutions on providing public documents. There is not enough transparency of these institutions since there are a lot of barriers to have access on the public documents.
Kusari, legal advisor at BIRN, explained the law on Access to Public Document, adopted by the Assembly on October 7, 2010, which gives full access to public documents.
BIRN has sent official requests to institutions asking for accessibility in the public documents. “The most transparent institution regarding the accessibility to documents is the Kosovo Business Registration Agency, while the least transparent ones are Data Protection Agency and the Prime Minister’s Office,” Kusari said.
A two-month investigation by BIRN Kosovo’s “Justice in Kosovo” TV programme has found numerous instances of illegal gravel excavation from Kosovo’s rivers.
The June 24 programme also aired exclusive footage of government inspectors from the Independent Commission for Mines and Minerals being attacked during the seizure of an excavator.
“People are following me, and I am scared. I had to take a vacation from the job and I have not left home since then alone,” said inspector Refki Morina, who reported that the threats stopped after the programme aired.
“Justice in Kosovo” found that those taking the gravel were doing so at the expense of the environment. Furthermore, judicial bodies have failed to prosecute the exploiters, who typically start work at 4 p.m., when inspectors are off-duty.