Deadline: 15-Nov-20
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Albania has launched a call for investigative stories to offer grants for three journalists to produce articles on organised crime themes. The call is part of the project ‘Raising Awareness and Accountability on Money Laundering in Albania’, supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The goal of the project is to strengthen the fight against organised crime and money-laundering by raising awareness and strengthening the accountability of the system for the seizure and confiscation of the illegal proceeds of crime. The journalists will have around three months to dig deeper and research their ideas, and will also have the opportunity to work with experienced editors as mentors to guide them through the process of writing in accordance with BIRN standards.
Through this competition three (3) investigative journalists will be selected to produce investigative articles in the field of organized crime, in cooperation with civil society. The winners will be selected by an independent jury composed of experienced journalists and experts in this field.
Funding Information
- Selected applicants will receive a scholarship of 1,200 Euros (minus personal income tax), will have a three-month period available to complete their investigation and prepare the article for publication.
Topics
Priority in the selection will be given to proposals which include one of the following topics, suggested as a priority during a roundtable discussion between journalists and civil society representatives organized by BIRN Albania:
- Implement the law of decriminalization and the inclusion of organized crime in the 2021 elections and in politics;
- The extent of Albanian organized crime in Europe;
- International trafficking of narcotics from Albanian-speaking organized crime;
- Confiscated properties and difficulties of using them for social causes;
- Administration of confiscated assets of organized state crime;
- Cigarette smuggling in Albania and involvement in organized crime;
- The impact of organized crime on the media;
- Court rulings overturning severe sentences against members of criminal gangs;
- Evaluation of the government’s strategy against organized crime;
- Trafficking in human beings from Albania / Middle East countries to the EU;
- Money laundering through the construction sector in Albania;
- Involvement of organized crime in the exploitation of extractive industries.
Eligibility Criteria
- All journalists in Albania, employed by other media or in a free profession, have the right to apply.
- Applicants can submit more than one application, but one candidate proposal will be selected.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3l7vp1T