BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting
August 22-28, 2022
Boutique Hotel Portorose, Portorose, Slovenia
DAY 1
August 22, Monday
9.30 Opening session and introduction with an outline of the training programme – Marija Ristic, regional director of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network; Hendrik Sittig, Head of KAS Media Programme South East Europe
10:00 – 10:30 Ivana Nikolic, Programme Coordinator at BIRN, Getting to Know BIRN Investigative Resource Desk (BIRD)
10:30 – 12:00 Friedrich Lindenberg, Freelance Coder and Data Specialist, An Introduction to Open Data for Investigations
12:00 – 12:30 Coffee break
12:30 – 14:00 Friedrich Lindenberg, Freelance Coder and Data Specialist, How to Search Aleph
14:00 – 15:30 Lunch break
15:30 – 17:00 Working in groups: Gyula Csak, Editor at BIRN
20:00 Dinner at the hotel
DAY 2
August 23th, Tuesday
9:30 – 11:00 Milica Stojanovic, BIRN Journalist & Digital Security Trainer, How To Keep Your Work Safe
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 – 13:00 Milica Stojanovic, BIRN Journalist & Digital Security Trainer, Practice
13:00-14:30 Lunch break
14:30 – 16:30 Claudia Ciobanu, Presentation of the Investigation Polish Forests Full of Fear with Q&A
16:30 – 17.00 Coffee break
17:00 – 18:30 Kai Biermann, Editor at the Investigative Department, Die Zeit – Basics of Investigative Reporting at Die Zeit; A Case Study: The Pegasus Project
20:00 – Dinner at the hotel
DAY 3
August 24th, Wednesday
9:30 – 11:00 Simon Bowers, Investigations Editor, Finance Uncovered, Reading Financial Documents & Following Money Flows
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee
11:30 – 13:00 Simon Bowers, Investigations Editor, Finance Uncovered, A Case Study: Agents of Secrecy
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch break
14:30 – 16:00 Panel Discussion: Being a Journalist in a Conflict Zone: Perils, Impunity and Protection
Speakers:
Lina Kushch, First Secretary, National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Ukraine
Ahmad Al-Bazz, Palestine-based independent journalist and documentary filmmaker
Milica Stojanovic, Journalist, BIRN’s Balkan Transitional Justice
Moderator: Ivana Nikolic, Programme Coordinator at BIRN
16:00 – 16.30 Coffee break
16:30 – 18:30 Working in groups
20:00 Dinner at the hotel
DAY 4
August 25th, Thursday
9:30 – 11:00 Alexandra Heal, Visual Journalism Reporter at the Financial Times, Combining different sources into a multimedia story
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee
11:30 – 13:00 Alexandra Heal, Visual Journalism Reporter at the Financial Times, A Case Study
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 16:30 Working in groups
20:00 Dinner at the hotel
DAY 5
August 26th, Friday
9:30 – 11:00 Meg Kelly, Sarah Cahlan, Visual Forensics Reporters at the Washington Post, How to use visual evidence in investigative reporting
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee
11:30 – 13:00 Meg Kelly, Sarah Cahlan, Visual Forensics Reporters at the Washington Post, Making an Open Source Investigation: How we reported on Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing, American weapons in Yemen and the January 6th insurrection
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 16:30 Meg Kelly, Sarah Cahlan, Visual Forensics Reporters at the Washington Post, Basics of Open Source Research for Investigative Reporters
16.30 – 17.00 Coffee Break
17.00 – 18.30 Working in groups
20:00 Dinner at the hotel
DAY 6
August 27th, Saturday
9.30 – Presenting pitches
TBC Boat trip/excursion
20:00 Farewell dinner
All the sessions and panels take place at the Hotel’s Conference Room.