Tag: Past programme

To promote and advance independent investigative journalism and to strengthen and enable information sharing among regional partners

Specific Objective:

• Supporting transparency, accountability, and functionality of the system for public services in Kosovo with specific focus on courts;
• Increasing accessibility of media and the civil society to decision-making processes regarding courts, public services, public administration, and public procurement;
• Improving transparency and accountability of public procurement and tender awarding processes at the local and central level, namely municipalities and the ministerial level;
• Encouraging transparency, accountability, and meritocracy in the public administration process with the special aim of fighting nepotism and party clientism within the public administration;
• Providing valuable qualitative and quantitative data and reports to all stakeholders regarding the rule of law institutions, public services, public administration and public spending;
• Reduce Kosovo’s barriers towards EU integration by disseminating data and reporting on the results from the monitoring process;
• Increasing transparency and accountability of the Kosovo-Serbia Agreement implementation through establishing an effective mechanism for civil oversight over the process.

Main Activities:

• Publishing written articles of issues on public administration, public procurement, and public services from the municipal debates during elections;
• Publishing articles with the facts on the general situation in the Kosovo’s municipalities and local governance;
• Publishing long articles regarding the Brussels dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia;
• Monitoring public services.

Target Groups:

• Public institutions;
• Media Outlets;
• Civil Society.

Main implementer:

BIRN Kosovo

The overall objective of the action is to improve the accountability and transparency of the public finance in seven targeted countries by strengthening the CSOs role and voice in monitoring the institutions’ performance in the area of public finance.

Specific Objective:

Strengthening regional CSO knowledge and capacity to monitor public finances and build know-how in advocating for transparency and accountability of public finance among the 10 partners and 80 other CSOs in the region

Establish networking and cooperation platform of CSOs and other actors on monitoring of public finance at local, regional and EU level.

Strengthen CSO watchdog and advocacy role.

Main Activities:

• Sharing of know-how
• Networking
• WP3 Monitoring / watchdog
• Advocacy
• Communication
• Organizational capacity building

Target Groups:

• Civil society organisations,
• Public authorities,
• Media

Main implementer:

Foundation Wings of Hope (Leading Partner – Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Donor:

BIRN Kosovo, Za Zamiata (Bulgaria), Fractal (Serbia), CEKOR (Serbia), NVO MANS (Montenegro), Analytica (Macedonia), EnaBana (Slovenia), FOCUS (Slovenia), Center for Ecology and Energy (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Increased transparency on the implementation of the EU-backed Kosovo-Serbia agreement that specifically affects the lives of citizens at the local level through producing and publishing accurate information for the public.

Specific Objectives: 

• Shaping attitudes in order for the community to create a permissive environment for successful prevention of violent extremism;
• Encourage public participation in prevention of violent extremism and the process of building resilience.

Main Activities:

• Monitoring the progress reached in the implementation of the Brussels agreement. All findings will be published as part of the BIG DEAL initiative and will be disseminated across local, regional and international stakeholders;
• Publishing news in Albaninan, Serbian and English regarding the implementation of the agreement, generated by researching and monitoring activities on a bi-monthly basis;
• Producing and publishing TV programs on justice integration and the association of the municipalities.

Target Groups:

• Negotiators,
• Decision makers
• Civil Society

Highlights:

By providing more information to the citizens regarding the dialogue, they will become part of the decision making process, which will improve the relationship between communities in Kosovo and will create a safer environment. All commuities of Kosovo will be involved and will gain knowledge while criticizing, supporting, and pushing for a better implementation of the Brussels Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

Pressure on the Government of Kosovo during the decision-making process and policy-making to increase the participation of the civil society in the involved processes for the benefit of citizens

Specific Objectives: 

• Shaping attitudes in order for the community to create a permissive environment for successful prevention of violent extremism;
• Encourage public participation in prevention of violent extremism and the process of building resilience.

Main Activities:

• Undertaking monitoring
• Communicating with the respective governmental unit to anticipate the starting time and expected results of the process;

Target Groups:

• Public Institutions;
• Civil Society;
• Media Outlets.

Increasing the capacity and professionalism of students of law and journalism in journalistic reporting, access to data, and the legal consequences of incorrect reporting.

Specific Objectives: 

• Increasing capacities of young students of law and journalism in fair journalistic reporting, compiling requests for access to public documents, and the legal consequences of inaccurate reporting;
• Raising awareness and public debate about fair journalistic reporting and the safety of journalists.

Main Activities:

• Organising seven training sessions with young journalism and law students on journalistic ethics and the legal consequences of incorrect reporting;
• Offering legal assistance on access to public documents for journalism and law students;
• Distributing 15 scholarships to students of journalism and law universities for conducting joint investigations;
• Editing and publishing 15 investigations in cooperation with students who won the scholarships;
• Producing two TV debates through the TV programmes “Life in Kosovo” and “Justice in Kosovo” on the topic of journalists’ security and accurate and impartial reporting;
• Producing 5 long articles in Krypometër on the accuracy of information.

Target Groups:

• Students of journalism and law;
• Marginalised gender and ethnic groups;
• Civil society.

Highlights:

• 124 students were trained in Improving Research Reporting Standards Through Joint Experiences. The students were from different educational backgrounds, mainly from Journalism and Law. The training included students from the municipalities of Prishtina, Gjilan, Prizren and Mitrovica.
• BIRN Kosovo distibuted 15 scholarships to students interested in investigating on and publishing a journalistic story while applying high journalistic standards;
• BIRN Kosovo opened its legal office to assist students of Journalism and Law with access to public documents, with the aim of verifying facts.

Enhance awareness among women and men in Kosovo regarding property rights.

Specific Objectives: 

Increasing the public’s awareness of women’s property rights through impartial and objective reporting on women’s inheritance rights through televised and online reporting;
Monitoring the implementation of the legal obligation to register property in the names of both spouses by political representatives and policymakers;
Contributing to positively influencing policies related to women’s inheritance rights by initiating public discussion and providing concrete policy recommendations.

Main Activities:

A series of 10 articles on the current state of affairs in the implementation of the legal framework pertaining to women’s inheritance rights;

Producing two televised analyses to be broadcast on the television programme Justice in Kosovo;

Publishing 4 extensive research papers in Gazeta Jeta ne Kosove;

Organising 2 roundtables to discuss the legislation pertaining to women’s inheritance;

Publishing five extensive legal analyses in Gazeta Jeta ne Kosove;

Drafting proposals for amendments to laws.

Target Groups:

The main target group for the programme ‘Engagement for Equity’ is women from ages 18-65. BIRN will target the stakeholders involved in judicial cases, while an extended target group will be the general public.