The Summer School in Slovenia in 2013
The fourth BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting was held from August 25-31 2013 at Lake Bled in Slovenia.
The fourth BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting was held from August 25-31 2013 at Lake Bled in Slovenia.
Every year, the BIRN Summer School of Investigative Reporting is a meeting place for journalists and media professionals from the Balkans and around the world, along with some of the best-known investigative journalists and editors from Europe and the USA.
Last year’s week of investigative workshops was composed of sessions on the basics of investigative reporting, CAR (computer-assisted reporting), interviewing techniques, how to find documents, how to conduct cross-border investigations, data visualisation techniques and more. There was a special focus on human trafficking, international drug smuggling and undercover investigations.
The lead trainer at the 2013 Summer School was one of the best investigative editors and journalists from The Guardian, David Leigh. BIRN’s pool of trainers consisted of double Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Nalder, Marcus Lindemann, OCCRP director Paul Radu, editor at the Centre of Investigative Journalism Stevan Dojcinovic, and others.
Special guest lecturers were Luigi Rinella, chief of the narcotics section of the Questura of Milan, and Stephen A. Salmieri, chief of undercover operations within the FBI for 29 years.
BIRN also organised a round table on the role and responsibilities of governments in the Western Balkans in providing social services to prevent human trafficking. Participants were Marija Andjelkovic of NGO ASTRA from Serbia, Katrin Adams of GIZ, Katjusa Popovic of NGO Kljuc from Slovenia and Savica Pureber from the Slovenian state prosecutor’s office.
Like every year, the Summer School brought together 30 participants, both regional and international. 2013’s participants were from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Kosovo, France, Serbia, Austria, Montenegro, Macedonia, Estonia, Slovenia and Romania.
All the participants worked on story ideas during the Summer School, and four stories of their stories were awarded development funding on the last day of the event.
The Summer School was held at Lake Bled in Slovenia in Sava Resort Hotels, one of the best places for organising demanding events.
It was organised in cooperation with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and with support of King Baudouin Foundation and the Belgian National Lottery. Other donors were the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, OSCE Mission to Serbia and USAID Macedonia.