BIRN Macedonia organized a training on Digital Rights for Journalists between June 8-10 in Mavrovo, North Macedonia. The training was designed to shed light on digital rights and equip journalists with skills and tools to cover stories stemming from this increasingly important topic. Trainers included prominent legal and privacy experts as well as experts for FOIA and senior BIRN journalists. All training sessions were interactive and included numerous examples and exercises. The participants came from various North Macedonian media outlets including Lice v lice, Koha, MRT, Klan TV, Pari and Duma.

The training comprised seven sessions: Introduction to digital rights; privacy and protection of personal data; public interest versus protection of personal data; how to use open databases; how BIRN categorizes and documents violations of digital rights; fact-checking tools and techniques; and misinformation and manipulations on social networks. A separate session was dedicated to a case study about identity theft.Each session included theoretical and practical elements that provided the participants with a better understanding of the concepts presented. The participants found the training to be highly informative and beneficial and they particularly appreciated the practical nature of the sessions, which allowed them to apply the knowledge gained during the training immediately. They also commended the trainers’ expertise and ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise manner.

The training was organized as part of the “Reporting Digital Rights and Freedoms” project, funded by the European Union.