Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the International Press Institute (IPI) have opened a Call for Applications for the second two-day training course on fact-checking and tackling disinformation as part of the EU-funded project, “Solidifying the Resilience of Kosovo’s Current and Future Journalists”.

The IPI will bring two experienced media professionals to administer the training course and share their knowledge and experience with Kosovo journalists and journalism and social sciences students. Trainers include Carina van Wyk, head of education and training at Africa Check, Africa’s first independent fact-checking organisation, and Eoghan Sweeney, an open-source investigation specialist and trainer who over the past decade has helped to establish and develop digital verification and fact-checking operations at media organisations across the globe.

Based on the joint experience, BIRN and the IPI aim to help the next generation of Kosovo journalists to tackle disinformation and fake news, and conduct reporting that meets international fact-checking standards.

This is the second time that BIRN partners with IPI, an EU-based global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, to help improve standards in Kosovo journalism. The first edition, held in December 2020 gathered a total of 36 participants. BIRN is the only media organisation in Kosovo certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).

The deadline to submit applications is 21 March, while the maximum number of participants is set at 40. Candidates from all parts of Kosovo are encouraged to apply. However, priority will be given to younger journalists with less experience in the described field.