Deadline: 1-May-23
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) invites Montenegrin journalists to apply for a three-day training program designed to address the rising concern over digital rights violations in the Balkans.
The event, to be held in Podgorica, Montenegro, from May 16 to May 18, 2023, will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of digital rights, focusing on reporting breaches, content blocking, manipulations, and propaganda in the digital realm.
With technology evolving rapidly, it’s essential for journalists to stay up-to-date on the latest methods and strategies to uncover and appropriately report on digital rights violations. To tackle these challenges, BIRN is organizing a three-day training for Montenegrin journalists in Podgorica, Montenegro that will focus on the theoretical and practical framework necessary to understand digital rights and how to report on breaches, blocking and filtering content, manipulations, and propaganda in the digital environment.
Numerous reports from international human rights organizations, media organizations, CSOs, and international institutions indicate a concerning situation regarding digital rights in the Balkans, highlighting the need for continued efforts to improve the protection and promotion of these rights, but also to enhance the journalists’ ability to adequately report on these issues. Despite many of the countries from the region having regulatory frameworks that formally address these issues, challenges persist, such as online surveillance, censorship, and data privacy issues.
BIRN’s training will provide ten selected journalists from Montenegro with a comprehensive understanding of the issues at stake, helping them to identify and report on digital rights violations more effectively. Journalists play a crucial role in raising public awareness and driving change and by equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge, this training will enable them to produce impactful stories that can contribute to a more informed public debate and eventually lead to policy changes that protect and promote digital rights in the Balkans.
The organizers will fully cover travel and accommodation costs for selected participants. The working language of the training is English.
What to expect?
- The training will provide selected journalists with essential skills and knowledge to effectively investigate and report on digital rights violations in an ever-changing technological landscape. The training will cover various aspects of digital rights reporting, including identifying and collecting digital rights violations, categorizing these violations, and reporting on individual cases and broader trends.
- The program will also focus on multimedia, contemporary tools, and modern journalistic approaches, such as open-source investigations, data journalism, fact-checking, and cross-border collaborations. The training in Podgorica will offer valuable educational insights and provide the opportunity to connect with fellow journalists and experts working in the digital rights field.
Unique opportunity after the training
- Upon completion of the training, journalists will have the opportunity to pitch their story ideas to BIRN. Selected journalists will receive on-the-job mentoring and financial support to research and apply their newly acquired skills to implement their ideas on cases involving breaches, content blocking, filtering, manipulations, and propaganda in the digital environment.
Eligibility Criteria
The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) invites journalists from Montenegro to apply for a three-day training on reporting digital rights violations.
For more information, visit BIRN.