Macedonia Archives - Page 7 of 13

BIRN Macedonia Lifts Lid on Farm Subsidies

Following the Skopje 2014 Uncovered database, BIRN Macedonia is promoting a second database, on how much the government spends on agricultural subsidies and who gets them.

The Balkan Investigative Reporters Network Macedonia has launched a database on government agricultural subsidies from 2010 to 2014.

According to BIRN, over four years, the country has spent 150 million euros on subsidies for livestock and 296 million for crop production, making a total of 446 million.

The data come from official documents obtained from the Agency for support of agriculture and rural development, referring to direct payments for plant and livestock production.

The data reveal that most of the money, or 83 percent of the total budget, was allocated in subsidies for individuals – over 370 million in the period from 2010 to 2014.

The participation rate of companies in the budget for subsidies is 17 per cent, about 75.7 million euros.

The database records 2,480 companies that benefited from grants from 2010 to 2014 and 53 measures for subsidies.

“Pelagonija”, “Povardarie” Winery, JSC “Varda” and, surprisingly, the Ministry of Agriculture, were the top four legal entities in terms of receiving most subsidies.

“Asked why they were on the list of legal entities taking subsidies, the Ministry of Agriculture responded that it was a settling of debts to farmers. Most of the subsidies were paid during the elections, and it is interesting that companies that receive major subsidies also have accounts abroad,” Aleksandar Dimitrievski, the author of the study, said.

Agricultural Engineering Professor Jovan Azhderski, who attended the promotion, said the effect of the subsidies had been almost nonexistent, although he added that it might take time to see the difference.

“From 2006 to now we should have seen some serious benefits… in improved quality, cost, technological processes for production, but we do not eat cheaper food yet and it is questionable if the quality has improved,” Azhderski said.

He also stressed that people with the same name and surname appear in the database several times.

However, there is not enough data to determine whether they are the same people, since the ID numbers of individual beneficiaries are classified data.

The database is available at the following link: www.subvencii.prizma.mk

BIRN Macedonia Wins Investigative Reporting Award

BIRN Macedonia was awarded the prestigious “Nikola Mladenov” award for investigative reporting for the “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” database and series of investigative reports about the grand revamp of the capital.

“Considering its scope,’Skopje Uncovered’ is a groundbreaking endeavour in investigative journalism in Macedonia. BIRN’s team has demonstrated an exquisite capacity for research, analysis and organising huge volume of data,” said Biljana Petkovska, director of the Macedonian Institute for Media, when she announced the first prize for BIRN.

“This award is recognition for teamwork – an incentive and a promise that you will see many more BIRN investigations,” said Meri Jordanovska, BIRN reporter at the awards ceremony in Skopje on Thursday.

When the grand revamp of the Macedonian capital was first announced back in 2010, the project, known as “Skopje 2014”, envisaged the construction of some 40 monuments, sculptures, facades and new buildings. Fast forward to 2015 and the number of buildings and monuments has tripled.

The price tag of Skopje’s new look has meanwhile also shot up, far surpassing the initially announced figure of €80 million, to around €634 million, BIRN’s investigation shows.

The second prize went to journalist Biljana Nikolovska from Telma TV for her documentary on a little girl who died while waiting for funds for surgery. The third prize was divided between team of NOVA TV website for their series on Telecom affair and SCOOP journalist Xhelal Neziri for an investigation on pollution.

Another investigation published on BIRN’s website Prizma by Aneta Dodevska on foreign investments received special mention by the jury.

The Macedonian Institute for Media first established the prize in 2001 to support investigative journalism in the country. Three years ago this award was named after Nikola Mladenov, a veteran editor and owner of Fokus weekly who died in a tragic car accident.

BIRN Bolsters Social Media Expertise

Communication officers from across the BIRN Network gathered in Serbia’s capital on February 23-24 for an intensive training session focused on social media.

BIRN Hub organised the two-day training programme for its six communications officers as part of its focus on staff capacity building, as well as improving the overall output of BIRN’s publications for its international audiences.

Developments in social media and technology were on the agenda, alongside ways to maximize the use of advertising tools, audience targeting strategies, community building and improving the overall digital experience for BIRN’s audiences.

The training was also an opportunity for the country-specific communications officers to share information and experiences face-to-face, rather than via online portals as is common in a Network spanning multiple countries.

Attendees were also able to discuss the Network’s future growth and how they plan to adapt their social media and digital strategies for the future.

BIRN Hub, as a secretariat of the Network, is tasked with offering assistance to its members, including by developing editorial, digital and other relevant skills. The Network has identified a need to support its members by building their capacities and management skills in order to ensure long-term sustainability.

As part of its investment in social media skill development, BIRN Hub will be organising monthly training sessions for its communication officers, aimed at fostering a cohesive approach across all five regions in the Network – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia.

BIRN Macedonia Launches Tenth Call for Investigative Reports

BIRN Macedonia, together with the Centre for Civil Communications, launched the tenth call for investigative stories on February 29th.

The call is part of the ‘Project for Investigative Journalism and Cooperation Between Media and Civil Society’, and is part of a USAID programme for strengthening independent media in Macedonia.

Selected journalists will be awarded a grant covering their expenses during the investigation and writing phases of their stories. This call ends on October 28th.

Journalists will have approximately three months to dig deeper and research investigative story ideas. Grantees will be mentored by experienced editors who will guide them through the process of writing investigative stories according to BIRN standards.

Topics for investigations include: health; cultural policy; education and youth; human rights; EU integration; good governance; inter-ethnic relations; environment issues; marginalised groups; quality of life.

The call only applies to journalists from Macedonia.

The final call for investigative reports within this project will be launched at the end of 2016.

Click for more information about the application procedure, with details in Macedonian.

BIRN Macedonia Issues Another Call for an Investigative Story: Domestic and Other Forms of Violence Against Women

Following a workshop on Domestic and Other Forms of Violence in December 2015, held as part of an integrated awareness campaign, BIRN is pleased to announce its call for an investigative story on the same subject.

BIRN urges interested journalists to submit their applications, biographies and other required documentation by no later than February 2, 2016. The final draft of the story is to be submitted two months after the successful candidate is notified of the award.

The selected journalist will receive $500 in monetary value and will be offered mentorship and editorial support from BIRN staff members.

All journalists in Macedonia are eligible to submit applications for this call, only one of whom will be selected to develop the story.

This call is published in cooperation with the missions of the United Nations and the European Union in Macedonia.

BIRN remains committed to highest standards of journalistic endeavours, and grants for other topics and specific fields will follow in the coming months.

“Skopje 2014 Uncovered” Gets Mobile App

BIRN Macedonia has developed an interactive app for Android devices called “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” that allows users to know the cost of buildings and monuments that form part of the government sponsored revamp of the capital.

BIRN’s new app lists all the edifices that are included in the BIRN’s official database of buildings, new facades, sculptures, monuments, fountains and other structures which are components of Skopje’s publicly funded makeover.

Through photographing a specific structure, users can now get its exact cost. By photographing with a wider span, users can find out the cost of each structure in the picture or get the total sum.

To obtain more information, the app “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” also allows connection to BIRN’s database with the same name.

Photographs made through the app can be shared through social networks or sent via messages with one click.

The app is available on Google Play.

BIRN Macedonia Launches Ninth Call for Investigative Reports

BIRN Macedonia, together with the Centre for Civil Communications launched the ninth call for investigative stories on October 14th.

The call is part of the ‘Project for Investigative Journalism and Cooperation Between Media and Civil Society’, part of a USAID programme for strengthening independent media in Macedonia.

In this call that closes on October 28th, selected journalists will be awarded a grant to cover their expenses while doing the investigation and writing the story.

Journalists will have about three months to dig deeper and research their ideas, but also will have the opportunity to work with experienced editors as their mentors to guide them through the process of writing to BIRN standards.

The call only applies to journalists from Macedonia. More calls for investigative grants will follow.

Click for more information about the application procedure, with details in Macedonian.

Annual and Financial Reports – BIRN Macedonia

The Annual Reports provide an overview of BIRN Macedonia’s activities throughout the given year.
The Financial Reports contain data on BIRN’s finances during the year.

2024
Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2023
Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2022
Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2021
Annual report | Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2020
Annual report | Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2019
Annual report | Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2018
Annual report | Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2017
Annual report | Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2016
Annual report | Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2015
Annual Report | Financial Report (Macedonian version)

2014
Annual Report | Financial Report

2013
Annual Report

BIRN Macedonia Launches “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” Database

On the anniversary of the devastating Skopje earthquake in 1963, BIRN Macedonia published an online interactive database “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” documenting the new classical look of Skopje in the past five years.

Fast forward to 2015 and the number of buildings and monuments has tripled.
The price tag of Skopje’s new look has meanwhile also shot up, far surpassing the initially announced figure of €80 million, to around €560 million, a BIRN investigation shows.

The eight-month investigation draws on data procured through the Access to Public Information Act, the official web page of the Public Procurement Bureau, the “Skopje 2014” audit and a joint report by the government, the Skopje municipality of Centar and the Ministry of Culture, presented after the 2013 local elections.

The “Skopje 2014 Uncovered” database documents and maps works built or under construction with the official contracts, authors’ fees, annexes and statistics on most contracted builders, sculptors, architects and foundries that participated in the project. As of July 26, this data is available to the public in Macedonian language. An English version will be available soon. An official launch and promotion event will be held in September.

The online database is available at: http://skopje2014.prizma.birn.eu.com/

More details on the investigation and the results are available here.

BIRN Conference Sparks Widespread Media Interest

Several Bosnian TV stations, including the region’s CNN affiliate N1 and over 30 online media outlets, reported on BIRN’s conference on media freedom challenges in the Balkans held last week.

The BIRN network directors were featured on ‘Reflex’, a talk show hosted by Mimo Sahinpasic on TV OBN in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They discussed the various issues media professionals are faced with in the region today.

Commenting on the situation in Macedonia, BIRN’s director Ana Petruseva highlighted the power the government has over media in the country. “The prime minister’s cabinet decides on everything, from topics to be covered to potential interviewees,” Petruseva said.

BIRN regional network director Gordana Igric told FACE TV meanwhile that the media and civil society in the Balkans should not wait for Brussels’ help but act to ensure their own freedom and avoid becoming victims of political games.

Mirna Buljugic, BIRN BiH’s acting director, gave an interview for N1 in which she raised concerns about the deteriorating situation in the media sector, increasing political pressures as well as physical attacks on journalists in the country.

The cost of ethical and professional media is always high as room for critical opinion is constantly shrinking, concluded Jeta Xharra and Dragana Zivkovic Obradovic, BIRN directors from Kosovo and Serbia for Hayat TV.

In addition, EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn’s video message to the conference about the disturbing media situation in the Balkans was featured on Radio Free Europe, Banja Luka-based portal Buka, klix.ba, news agencies Tanjug and Fena as well as kurir.rs, vesti.rs, beta.informer.rs, bljeask.info, dnevnik.ba and video news site source.ba.