Tag: Macedonia

BIRN Macedonia Fellowship Book Launch

BIRN Macedonia on Monday, December 22 held a reception to launch the book “Power struggle: Meeting Global Energy Challenges in Balkans”, containing articles by ten journalists from Southeast Europe that participated in the 2008 programme of the Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence.

At the cocktail at Skopje’s Journalists` Club, BIRN Macedonia director Ana Petruseva presented the book containing investigative journalism stories done by this year’s fellows on the topic of energy. She spoke about the aims of the program and encouraged journalists to apply for next year.

Darko Duridanski, this year’s fellow from Macedonia who examined the energy arising from Kosovo`s independence and its impact on other similar movements in Spain and Georgia talked about his experience with the fellowship program and the topic that he worked on.

About hundred journalists and editors from Macedonia`s main media organisations attended the launch including from the dailies Vest, Dnevnik, Utrinski vesnik, Spic, as well as A1 TV, Kanal 5 TV, Alsat- M TV, Alfa TV along with representatives of embassies and civil society organisations.

Each year the BIRN teamof experienced editors and journalists in cooperation with the Robert Bosch Stiftung and ERSTE foundations is offering ten journalists from the Balkans a chance to travel and investigate their stories which are later published in their respective national media as well as published in a BIRN book.

BIRN Holds Annual Network Board Meeting

The board of the regional Network held its annual meeting in Skopje between 19 to 22 May to discuss results achieved in 2007 as well as further development of the Network and its member organisations.

On the first day of the meeting, Gordana Igric, Regional Network Director, presented the regional organisation’s annual activity; directors of member organisations presented their activities and plans for the following period.

BIRN regional also presented the impact of the self-sustainability strategy launched in November 2007, with further options for development of commercial activities of the Network.

Representatives of member organisations adopted the annual report as well as several decisions on the future activities of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network.

Seminars on ICTY reporting in Skopje and Pristina

BIRN and the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, ICTY, are organising two seminars on reporting about the work of the ICTY for journalists from Kosovo and Macedonia next week in Pristina and Skopje.

The seminars, scheduled for April 10 in Pristina and April 11 in Skopje, will offer an opportunity for media professionals from Kosovo and Macedonia to discuss various issues related to the ICTY and the coverage of war crimes with tribunal officials and experts on war crimes reporting. The seminars will be divided into six sessions and are envisaged as a forum for an open exchange of opinions and experiences, to facilitate better access to ICTY-related information. The events are organised by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, in cooperation with ICTY Outreach and with financial support from the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

BIRN Macedonia Organises Training Workshop

BIRN Macedonia has selected eight trainees for a one-week workshop, organised by the Office of Public Affairs of the US Embassy and BIRN Macedonia on the theme of “Success Stories”. The training aims to encourage print and broadcast media to feature more interesting stories in their output.

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The trainees are young working journalists from the dailies Dnevnik, Vest and Vreme; the broadcasters A1 TV, Channel 5 TV and ALSAT-M TV; the state news agency MIA, economic web portal Total and the weekly Kapital.

The training will be held between November 20 and 24 at the BIRN Macedonia office in Skopje. In addition to lecturing the trainees, the chief trainer, Professor Bill Silcock, from the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and Ana Petruseva, BIRN country director, will help them prepare stories over course of the session. In advance of the workshop, the journalists were taken to Kumanovo to prepare stories that will be discussed at the event.

BIRN Macedonia selects first trainees

BIRN Macedonia has started the first part of its primary level journalism training course with an open invitation to young Macedonian journalists to develop their talents.

Applicants will be tested on October 17 at BIRN Macedonia’s Skopje office.

The project seeks to develop and improve the quality of journalism in different regions of Macedonia and to build a wider network of young journalists working in line with BIRN’s internationally recognised reporting standards.

The on-the-job training project will result in six special report packages on critical issues affecting Macedonia’s transition process, such as decentralization, corruption, minorities, and the EU accession process. They will be published monthly in Macedonian and Albanian, and a selection of articles will be reprinted in English.

For more information on how to get involved, please contact Ana Petruseva

Training course gets underway

IRN Macedonian started its International Standards Reporting course in Skopje on October 17 with six trainees who were selected after testing.

This course, run along the same lines as previous BIRN courses in Kosovo, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina combines theoretical teaching with practical training.

Trainees’ work will be published on BIRN’s website, for local and international dissemination, while successful trainees will have an opportunity to become permanent members of BIRN’s investigative teams.

For more information, contact BIRN Macedonia Director Ana Petruseva.

“Does Anyone Have a Plan” Premieres in Skopje, Macedonia

More than 400 guests attended the Skopje premiere of the documentary film “Does Anyone Have a Plan” at the Cinema Millennium on Monday, January 30.

Guests included the Austrian, British, Dutch, Swiss and US ambassadors, diplomats from dozen embassies as well as politicians, officials, editors, journalists, representatives from international organizations, including EUPAT, NATO, OSCE and ICRC.

“The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network has managed to achieve something that the media in the region have failed to accomplish – to give a realistic picture of the reasons and the consequences of the disintegration of Yugoslavia which started and is ending with the Kosovo problem,” said Liljana Jakovleska, editor of Macedonian National Radio.

Thammy Evans, political advisor at NATO headquarters, also applauded the documentary. “A very well presented film, a very interesting use of putting side-by-side the questions of everyday people and presenting them to politicians in power,” Evans said. “A timely exposure of the different views out there and how we need to move with a dialogue of all the stakeholders.”

Chanel 5 TV and A1 TV carried extensive reports on the event while Ana Petruseva was a guest in the main A1TV news. All major papers carried reports, including Weekly Forum .

“The film was well received by the audience and send off with an applause. It is interesting that the film manages to maintain its objectivity.” wrote Suncica Unevska in Utrinski Vesnik.

Does Anyone Have a Plan? Premieres in Skopje, Macedonia

More than 400 guests attended the Skopje premiere of the documentary film, Does Anyone Have a Plan?, at the Cinema Millennium on January 30.

Guests included the Austrian, British, Dutch, Swiss and US ambassadors, diplomats from dozen embassies as well as politicians, officials, editors, journalists, representatives from international organizations, including EUPAT, NATO, OSCE and ICRC.

“The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network has managed to achieve something that the media in the region have failed to accomplish – to give a realistic picture of the reasons and the consequences of the disintegration of Yugoslavia which started and is ending with the Kosovo problem,” said Liljana Jakovleska, editor of Macedonian National Radio.

Thammy Evans, political advisor at NATO headquarters, also applauded the documentary. “A very well presented film, a very interesting use of putting side-by-side the questions of everyday people and presenting them to politicians in power,” Evans said. “A timely exposure of the different views out there and how we need to move with a dialogue of all the stakeholders.”

Chanel 5 TV and A1 TV carried extensive reports on the event while Ana Petruseva was a guest in the main A1TV news. All major papers carried reports, including Weekly Forum . “The film was well received by the audience and send off with an applause. It is interesting that the film manages to maintain its objectivity.” wrote Suncica Unevska in Utrinski Vesnik.

Does Anyone Have a Plan? was since aired on February 7 on Channel 5 TV.

For more information, contact BIRN Macedonia director Ana Petruseva.

BIRN Documentary Shown to NATO Political Advisors

In early May, excerpts from BIRN’s latest documentary “Does Anyone Have a Plan?” were shown at a NATO conference in Skopje, which gathered political advisors from the Balkans to discuss regional issues.

One of the participants main preoccupations is border demarcation and they saw the part of the film which illustrates concerns over this matter.

Participants found the film very useful.

In Macedonia the film was also shown on TV Menada in Tetovo in early April and TV Nova in Kumanovo later that month. BIRN has since received praise for the film from residents of Tetovo and Kumanovo.