by Adina Florea Dan Turiga strides through a forest clearing now overtaken by weeds in Fetesti, a quiet village in northeastern Romania. It’s early October 2024, and the forest floor is blanketed in a quilt of orange and yellow leaves. A group of foreign journalists follows Dan Turiga, a forest

by Ina Allkanjari Albania’s media is at a critical point, with growing worries about the concentration of media ownership, political control, and the risks faced by journalists and whistleblowers trying to expose corruption and wrongdoing. The Media Ownership Monitor, a study conducted on 2023 by BIRN (the Balkan Investigative Reporting

by Anja Jerkovic Perhaps it’s not the typical format one might envision a whistleblower to be; 36, a recent Master’s graduate, a mother and a local activist. No, Irma Baralija wasn’t the most politically engaged person in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time when she decided to sue the country

By Arlis Alikaj Pëllumb Gjini is the former mayor of the village of Steblevë in the north part of Shebenik-Jabllanica, the largest national park in Albania, an area recognized and protected by UNESCO and Albanian law. He helped organize local elders and stakeholders for the creation of the national park

By Goran Lefkov Jovan Jovcevski is a unique example of a whistleblower in the Balkans and Europe. He was a the administrative founder of the Operational Technical Agency (OTA), a public agency in North Macedonia that works to prevent abusive electronic surveillance of citizens. Jovcevski was responsible for legal wiretapping

Despite the ongoing Russian war, Ukrainian institutions remain focused on anti-corruption efforts. This is especially relevant given the large quantities of international aid and arms arriving into the country, and limitations that the martial law places on democratic processes– such as temporary closures of open data registries that helped prevent

Obtaining whistleblower status in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not easy, and those who have succeeded claim that they have not been adequately protected from discrimination, demotions to lower-ranking positions, disciplinary proceedings, threats, blackmail and dismissal. However, after years of struggle, several of them have managed to obtain protection and fight

Whistleblowers and journalists form a fragile ecosystem. Many of the most important scandals that have shaken the public were revealed by people who risked their careers and their safety, and put their trust in the hands of a select editorial team. In such cases, there must be agreement between the

In recent years, Albania has made considerable efforts to address corruption, starting in 2016 when Parliament adopted the law on whistleblowing and protection of whistleblowers, following the recommendation of the European Union. While the law itself represents a positive step towards the fight against corruption, there is still a lack

Blowing the whistle enforces the playbook for national integrity. In the fall of 2021, a group of journalists were fired from their posts. The newspaper’s owner wanted to quell critical coverage of Ukrainian authorities. Refusing to be silenced, this expulsion prompted the ousted team to establish a new independent media