This initiative is part of the “Cybersecurity Capacity Building in the Western Balkans” project, funded by the European Union and led by the e-Governance Academy (eGA). The project aims to enhance cyber resilience in the Western Balkans by improving cybersecurity prevention, preparedness, and response among relevant public and private stakeholders.

The Western Balkans region faces a surge in surveillance and censorship practices that have profound implications for freedom of speech, human rights and democracy. The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the network of organisations it founded – SEE Digital Rights Network, which comprises more than 30 regional organisations – have recognised the urgent need to address these issues.

This project aims to tackle surveillance and censorship by fortifying the resilience of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations (CSOs) against digital surveillance and censorship across the Western Balkans Six (WB6) countries. This involves a multi-pronged approach that includes exposing the abuse of digital technologies by both state and non-state actors, raising public consciousness of government surveillance and censorship, empowering key stakeholders, and promoting policy reform.

The main activities include mapping stakeholders involved in surveillance and censorship, promoting institutional transparency, and engaging citizens and activists in addressing these issues.

Anticipated outcomes encompass heightened awareness among the target audience, bolstered capabilities of journalists and CSOs, promotion of policy change recommendations, and secure whistleblowing via the reporting tool and the specialised webpage.

Main Goal of the Project:

To combat surveillance and censorship in the Western Balkans region by exposing the misuse of technology by state and non-state actors, raising awareness about government surveillance and censorship, and strengthening the resilience of journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations (CSOs) to counteract the misuse of digital technologies.

Objectives:

• Objective 1: Combat surveillance and censorship by exposing state and non-state actors’ misuse of technology.
• Objective 2: Increase awareness about surveillance and censorship practices by state and non-state actors in the WB6 countries, and their short-term and long-term consequences on different stakeholders, including vulnerable and marginalized groups, and the general public.
• Objective 3: Empower journalists, human rights defenders, CSOs, and citizens to counteract digital technology misuse.

Target Groups: Journalists, human rights defenders, CSOs, and the general public

Partners: SEE Digital Rights Network Members

This project is made possible through grant support from the Open Society Foundation Western Balkan.

“Kosovo Green Action” project is financially supported by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development through the provision of a Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) Grant and is implemented by Open Data Kosovo (ODK), Balkan Green Foundation (BGF) and Lëvizja FOL (FOL).
The project engages diverse stakeholders in collaborative social accountability on climate and energy-related priorities outlined in the EU-endorsed Green Agenda for the Western Balkans. The project aligns with Green Agenda’s key pillars through activities that improve stakeholders’ access to information, good governance, accountability and transparency of government institutions and empowerment of youth, while boosting key climate actions.

Overall objectives
–       Development of government capacities to improve data-driven policymaking in line with the Green Agenda.
–       Foster collaboration and dialogue between public institutions, CSOs, media and citizens on key Green Agenda issues.
–       Engage stakeholders through various mechanisms including an interactive and data-driven digital platform on climate/energy-related issues which facilitates access to information and stakeholder interaction with government entities on climate and energy commitments.

The ‘Boost Good Governance 3.0&4.0’ project is a continuation of the past efforts that have been met and achieved through previous project editions from 2019 to 2022. Until 2024, the project will continue its efforts to further improve the openness and transparency of the Kosovo Parliament (KP) and the  Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Also, as an added value for the following implementing years, the project foresees introducing practices of openness and transparency to the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation in Kosovo (MESTI).

Open Data Kosovo will measure the Openness Index, within these institutions, which has been developed and implemented for the past years through the ActionSEE project funded by the European Union and co-financed by NED. This index measures how open the institutions are through desk research, interviews, and questionnaires. In turn, Open Data Kosovo will publish a policy paper that will entail insights from the measurement of the Openness Index and ground research on citizens’ perspectives for each of the institutions. In addition, Open Data Kosovo will engage in different outreach and communication activities to disseminate information to the general public through advocacy events, infographics, and informative videos among others.

The project is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy NED:

Internews launched in September 2020 a global consortium that aims to strengthen Internet freedom in 50 countries. The Consortium, which is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is a three-year initiative that aims to enhance digital safety of civil society actors, promote increased knowledge of Internet freedom issues, and advance human rights in the digital space. Open Data Kosovo will implement a number of activities in Kosovo while providing necessary support for regional activities led by the Regional Partner. These activities align with the Consortium effort to “place regional and local organisations at the forefront of the fight to preserve an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet.” 

As such, as part of this project, ODK will carry on the number of activities as set below:

• Facilitate and strengthen the network of civil society organisations working on digital rights issues in the Balkans by delivering one  on this aspect;
• Supporting local IF advocacy strategies and awareness-raising campaigns through capacity-building initiatives on digital rights, informing at least 5 local media and 5 local CSOs on advocacy interventions in Kosovo.
• Hold 2 Digital Rights Lectures with at least 20 university students and 20 high school students at learning institutions in Kosovo.

The project is supported by Internews:

The goal of the Private Sector-Led Workforce Development Activity in Kosovo is to create a private sector-led workforce development ecosystem that equips youth with the skills necessary to contribute to growth industries driving Kosovo’s economic development. The objective of the activity is to embolden the private sector to develop and strengthen the workforce, resulting in more market-driven skills. In each targeted sector – ICT, agribusiness, and wood processing.

The mission of this Activity is to strengthen bonds and increase collaboration among actors in these industries to create a more robust and efficient job market through the following components:

1. Advancing private sector leadership in collaboratively determining needs, designing, and financing tailored workforce solutions;
2. Strengthening private sector and key workforce ecosystem actors’ capabilities to co-implement and co-assess workforce solutions;
3. Strengthening workforce ecosystem relationships for sustained collaboration on inclusive employment solutions.

The primary audiences of the activity are:

• Kosovan youth, women and minorities seeking job opportunities,

• Private sector businesses engaged in ICT, agribusiness, and wood processing,

• Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions,

• Kosovan diaspora.

This Activity is supported by USAID and implemented by IREX in collaboration with partners Crimson Capital Corp. (Crimson), Development Gateway (DG), Germin, and Open Data Kosovo (ODK).

AlGOVrithms 3.0: How automated are our public procedures?

Considering the need to further address the use of algorithms in public procedures, as was identified in the previous project editions of alGOVrithms, this year’s edition, namely alGOVrithms 3.0: How automated are our public procedures, will continue to address and highlight the importance of using algorithms (automated decision making) in terms of public procedures in the targeted countries: Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and Kosovo. Advocacy efforts and policy recommendations provided by the partners organisations from these countries during the implementation of the alGOVrithms 3.0, will also aim to put on the forefront focus the area of e-governance in the local level. 

The partnering organisations which will implement the project, Open Data Kosovo (Kosovo), Institute for Law and Society INPRIS (Poland), K-Monitor Közhasznú Egyesület (Hungary), and KohoVolit.eu (Czechia), as part of previous efforts have conducted cutting edge research regarding the transparency of government-run automated decision making (ADM) processes in the Visegrad and Western Balkans region. As of 2019, there has not been identified the existence of a comprehensive legal framework regulating the process of alGOVrithm (term coined by the organisations implementing the project) implementation and usage of their transparency. As leading anti-corruption, and open data organisations, the implementing partners will implement this consecutive edition of the project, as a follow up on the roadmap which was provided previously. The aim of this project amongst others is to provide an updated overview from the monitoring process of the use of ADM processes in the targeted countries. 

This project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund, as well the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe. 

Project Coordinator Contact Details: 

Open Data Kosovo 

[email protected]

Funded by:

Implemented by:

Open Data Kosovo will benefit from the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) Institutional Grant after having its efforts recognized for creating a more open, transparent, and accountable society through numerous initiatives that ODK has undertaken over the past years.

The Institutional Grant will help to further support ODK’s efforts and strengthen the organization’s main pillars for increasing knowledge and usage of open data, developing digital solutions, increasing community engagement, and enhancing capacity building from 2022 to 2023.

ODK received the Institutional Grant from KCSF’s program, Engagement for Joint Action (EJA Kosovo), which supports civil society initiatives through grants and capacity building with the overall aim to contribute to a democratic and inclusive society in Kosovo, on its path towards integration into the European Union.

Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) program ‘EJA Kosovo’ is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Sweden, and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

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