Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
With international experience in media production, Jeton Ispahiu joined BIRN in 2008. He is responsible for providing video editing and final touches for the Life in Kosovo and Justice in Kosovo television programmes.
Jeton previously worked for various Canadian media companies, including CTV-Winnipeg, where he served as a journalist and video editor between 2004 and 2008.
Jeton graduated with a degree in production from Assinniboine Community College in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada in 2003.
Albulena Sadiku has a strong professional background in civil society and has spent 15 years working in media management, anti-corruption projects, capacity building, local government and production of field TV debates and reports.
In 2011, Albulena joined BIRN as a Project Manager for fundraising, program management, donor relations and activity management for the organization.
Albulena’s program portfolio includes anti-corruption initiatives to expose malpractice, transparent and unbiased journalism, and monitoring and reporting on public sector performance, especially the spending of public funds.
An experienced field producer of televised parliamentary and local elections programs, Albulena has produced in excess of 300 debates attended by more than 1,000 panelists and watched by over 3 million viewers.
She has actively engaged as a women’s rights campaigner and activist on issues related to women’s property and inheritance rights and the effective participation of women in elections and public institutions. In addition, she is a successful campaigner for Freedom of Information and Access to Public Documents.
In 2005, Albulena began working as a Advocacy Program Manager for the Initiative for Progress Organization (INPO) and in 2009, became the Executive Director, where she served until the end of 2010. Here, Albulena focused on local governance issues, including performance monitoring and evalutation of legislative and executive institutions across six municipalities in Kosovo.
She studied Political Science and English Literature at university and has partaken in relevant courses, including the not-for-profit management course at the Vienna University of Economics and Business’s NGO Academy
Having fostered a passion for Information Technology since the age of nine, Arian Hyseni is accustomed to putting to use the latest innovations in the field.
Arian joined BIRN in February 2008. He is responsible for maintaining the overall network, ensuring the online presence of BIRN products, as well as managing daily tasks in the office.
In 2009, he received the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) accreditation. He is currently enrolled at the University for Business and Technology, UBT, reading Management, Business and Economics.
Between May 7-9, 2012, Jeta Xharra, BIRN Kosovo Country Director, attended the 2012 Oslo Freedom Forum as one of the speakers.
Xharra was one of 36 speakers at the forum. She gave a presentation entitled “On Air and Under Attack in Kosovo” was about journalism during peacetime and how it can as challenging as journalism during wartime.
She recalled her work during the Kosovo conflict in the late 1990s.
“The media was basically aiding the killings, and de-humanizing the enemy…The war time reporting was worth risking my life and getting occasionally arrested by the Serbian authorities,” Xharra explained.
Xharra’s journalistic career continued following the war.
“I thought things would get boring after the war. It was a time of peace after all…What happened next was that these freedom fighters transformed into politicians, a fascinating transformation to have witnessed as a local journalist.
“In post-war Kosovo, our job as journalists was to make politicians accountable to their public. A piece of cake, I thought. A piece of cake compared to war-zone coverage,” Xharra said.
Xharra described the effects of one of her media products, the current affairs show “Life in Kosovo.”
“It became the first of its kind to broadcast debates, such as those held in every town in Kosovo during the municipal elections. The municipal mayor would declare his promises and a year later the tape would be played back to him.”
“This is when things started to get messy…some of these mayors were former freedom fighters and we challenged them all despite their war credentials. They started using their intimidation tactics by physically threatening me and my team and eventually it led to a 12 day campaign of government tabloids which labelled my team and me as traitors and Serbian spies,” Xharra said.
Xharra defined three lessons that she learned. First, reporting during peacetime can be as difficult as reporting during wartime. Secondly, freedom of speech is not cheap and lastly, form international allies. Xharra concluded her speech by stating that journalists face a never-ending war for the freedom of speech.
The Oslo Freedom Forum is an annual event that started in 2009 to bring humanitarian issues to the top of the global agenda, highlight the stories of human rights advocates an encourage the exchange of ideas.
This year it has brought together and enabled a platform to exchange experiences with some of the most notable and inspiring speakers, including Ahmed Benchemsi, a Moroccan journalist and media entrepreneur, Scott Carpenter, principle at Google Ideas, Nick Cohen, British journalist, author and political commentator, Naomi Natale, installation artist and social activist, Julia Ormond, an Emmy award-winning stage, film and television actress.
A link to Jeta Xharra’s presentation: http://www.oslofreedomforum.com/speakers/jeta-xharra.html
Life in Kosovo this Thursday will discuss the latest arrests conducted by the Serbian state.
Questions covered include: On what grounds are the Serbian police arresting citizens from the Republic of Kosovo? Why and how were officers from Kosovo’s police force arrested by their Serbian counterparts? After these arrests, will the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia continue? How is Kosovo’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Daciq using these arrests for political advantage within Serbia, at a time when the elections are about to start? How should Kosovo respond politically after this incident?
To discuss these issues and more, Muhamet Hajrullahu has invited the following guests to the studio:
Anton Quni – an MP from the LDK; Ahmet Isufi – an MP from the AAK; Florin Krasniqi – MP from Lëvizja Vetëvendosje; Florian Qehaja – Executive Director, Kosovo Center for Security Studies.
BIRN will also broadcast a report about the level of transparency shown in Kosovo’s municipalities. To what extent is the Law on Local Self-Government being respected, as well as the Administrative Instructions on Transparency?
Life in Kosovo is broadcast every Thursday at 8:20PM on RTK, and is repeated the following day at noon.
This Thursday, “Life in Kosovo” broadcasts the debate regarding the public health situation.
Among the issues raised are the findings and recommendations of BIRN’s annual report, which analyses the health situation in Kosovo.
12 years after the end of the war, why there is still a lack of essential drugs in primary health institutions?
Why is there no cooperation between health service providers in the country? Is there a lack of capacities in the public hospitals, or a mismanagement of capacities?
If there a timeline, when will the laws on health care and health insurance be approved by the Parliament? How important these two laws are to solve the problems in the field?
To understand more and get professional inputs on the issues, the host Muhamet Hajrullahu has invited:
Curr Gjocaj- director of the Department of Health Services, Ministry of Health;
Haxhi Avdyli- LDK health group;
Time Kadrijaj- parliamentary commission for health, AAK;
Alban Selimi- journalist, BIRN.
Also, BIRN will broadcast the report of journalist Alban Selimi, who shows what the television team has found out at the night when this team has visited some family medicine center.
This week, Life in Kosovo looks at the situation in Kosovo schools. After visiting several municipalities, journalist Edona Musa reveals, from the field, the state of education and schools in the country.
Have schools been built just for the sake of being built? Why is the director of education in Prizren facing charges regarding the abuse of his official duty? How much money are education officials demanding from applicants for the post of school director in order to secure the job?
What appointments have the municipal Director of Education in Drenas made and who from his family have been employed?
BIRN will also broadcast an interview with Valdet Gjinovci, head of Food and Veterinary Agency. How safe is the foods that we consume? Why have 52 workers been fired from this institution?
New website www.gazetajnk.com.
Gazeta Jeta në Kosovë is a comprehensive online news portal in Albanian, which includes investigations, analysis, columns and news on Kosovo’s current political, economic, environmental and social affairs.
This week, Life in Kosovo will discuss the use of fiscal cash registers.
Questions to be covered include: How many businesses have fiscal cash registers? Why do fuel pumps not yet have them set up? What are the technical problems hampering this project? Will the informal economy be stopped?
How do the Tax Administration of Kosovo and companies that sell fiscal cash registers evaluate this project, and what do economic experts think? Why are small businesses complaining about the price of the cash registers?
To discuss this issue, Muhamet Hajrullahu has invited the following guests to the studio:
Behxhet Haliti– director of the Tax Administration of Kosovo;
Driton Shuki – from the “Gekos” company;
Bashkim Shahini – from the “Dukagjini” company;
Arbana Xharra – economics editor of the Zëri daily newspaper; and
Berat Rukiqi – from the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce.
During the programme, BIRN will broadcast a report about what people running businesses think about the setting up of fiscal cash registers, and shares their complaints.
BIRN will also broadcast a report by journalist Edona Musa that shows the problems faced by Kosovo’s taxi drivers. In particular, Edona asks why some taxi drivers have decided to face time in jail instead of paying fines.
Tonight, Life in Kosovo will discuss electoral reform.
Questions to be covered include: What has the Commission on Electoral Reform done? How many electoral areas will there be in Kosovo? Will the electoral lists be opened or closed? What is the threshold that political parties must exceed in order to win seats? How can we ensure that there will be no fraud vote to the upcoming elections? Is it likely that vote theft will be eliminated through the use of electronic voting and biometric identification?
To discuss these and other issues, Muhamet Hajrullahu has invited the following guests to the studio:
Halit Krasniqi – PDK member at the Commission on Electoral Reform;
Imri Ahmeti – LDK member at the Commission on Electoral Reform;
Alban Krasniq – Vetëvendosje representative at the Central Electoral Commission;
Faik Ispahiu – Executive director, Internews Kosova; and
Jetmir Bakija – from the Institute of Democracy for Development.
Tonight, Life in Kosovo will broadcast a debate on the emergency situations in our country.
Do we know how to manage and cope with emergency situations in Kosovo – similar to those we have been faced over the last week?
What are the measures that the municipalities and the central government have taken?
What is the level of coordination among institutions in order to help the citizens? Why the Prishtina municipality has still no alarming system since three years now? I don’t get this part.
To discuss these issues, Jeta Xharra has invited:
Agim Gashi – Head of Directorate for Public Services in the Municipality of Prishtina
Feim Salihu – “Pastrimi” company
Visar Rama – INPO
Ismet Ibishi – Ministry of Internal Affairs
Shemsi Veseli – Deputy of PDK in Prishtina Assambly and KSF deputy minister
BIRN will also broadcast the interview with Dan Kamen from Energy Laboratory at the University of California, who talks about alternative energy sources in Kosovo.
