Author: Aleksandra Vrbica

Maria Georgieva is an award-winning investigative journalist working for Swedish public television’s current affairs programme “Mission Investigate (Uppdrag Granskning)”. She combines investigative journalism with data and classic fieldwork. Previously, she was based in Moscow for almost 8 years, and has uncovered Putin’s spies in Scandinavia, and Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov’s killing campaign on Chechen dissidents in the investigation ‘The Russian Hitmen’.

She was nominated for the Swedish Grand Prize in journalism in 2022 and was selected as a finalist for best investigation by the International Reporters and Editors jury (IRE) in 2023. Maria speaks fluent Russian and has reported for Swedish and international media, such as The Guardian, The Telegraph, Swedish public radio, and newspapers Dagens Nyhetere and Svenska Dagbladet. Maria also has experience working with open source data and has previously collaborated with OSINT-networks such as Bellingcat and The Dossier Center.

Summer School of Investigative Reporting 2024 Sessions

Mission Investigate at Scandinavian Public Broadcasters

Maria Georgieva and Ali Fegan will join forces to deepen the understanding of how digging in databases combined with classic fieldwork can create ground-breaking and impactful investigative journalism.

Putin’s Shadow War: How Did We Do It

Maria Gerogieva and Ali Fegan will demonstrate how Nordic public service broadcasting effectively employs data and classic fieldwork by showcasing their Case study.

Monika Kutri is a project manager and journalist safety specialist at the Croatian Journalists’ Association. Over the past five years, her primary focus has been on the safety of journalists in Croatia and the Balkan region as part of the SafeJournalists network. She is the author of the annual Indicators of Media Freedom and Journalist Safety in Croatia, as well as the Journalist Safety Index. In recent years, Monika has been increasingly involved in digital security. Since 2022, she has been a trainer in digital security for journalists, continually enhancing her skills and expertise in this area.

Summer School of Investigative Reporting 2024 Sessions

Shielding the Truth: Digital Security Essentials for Journalists

In an era of pervasive digital threats, this session equips journalists with essential knowledge and tools to safeguard their communications, sources, and data against cyber attacks and surveillance, covering the latest encryption techniques, secure communication methods, and best practices for digital security.

Group session: Digital Security, Virtual Reality (VR) and through Tabletop Exercises (TTX)

The session will simulate scenarios using VR and through TTX, preparing participants in a secure environment to identify and mitigate digital threats. A VR experience will allow journalists to practise making critical decisions which impact their digital security and to safely experience the sensation of sustaining an attack, while TTX  to discuss key digital security dilemmas and assess their organisation or community’s readiness to respond to incidents.

Redon Skikuli has been a digital rights and Free Libre Open Source promoter since 2012. Co-founder of Cloud68.co, Open Source Conference Albania (known widely as OSCAL), CryptoParty Tirana and LibreLabs Albania. Redon is a passionate advocate for open knowledge and online privacy, based in Tirana, Albania. He studied communication and marketing in Athens, but changed direction when he co-founded the first hackerspace in 2012. Since then, he’s been at the forefront of initiatives like CryptoParty Tirana and OSCAL, driving conversations on digital rights and open access in Tirana. His dedication to open knowledge is evident in extensive contributions to projects like OpenStreetMap, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikidata. Last but not least, Redon has been invited to various open-source conferences as a presenter, sharing insights on various topic with emphasis on digital rights in the post Snowden age.

Summer School of Investigative Reporting 2024 Sessions

How do Tech & Journalism Intersect and What to Do With It

Redon Skikuli and Boris Budini will jointly explore how to extract more insights from publicly available open-source information online,  showcasing of powerful tools and practical skills for investigative journalism. From data analysis to online research, we will try to get some practical skills and resources that can be used daily.

Group session: Advanced Deep & Dark Web

In this session, Redon Skikuli and Boris Budini will explore safe navigation techniques for investigating stories on the deep and dark web, including advanced methods for secure payments and information analysis, with live demonstrations and hands-on experience.