Kosovo

Association of Independent Broadcast Media of Kosovo (AMPEK)
$21,500
To foster media freedom and diversity in Kosovo by supporting independent minority broadcasters. The Association will continue to defend the professional rights and interests of independent media and monitor implementation of a legal framework ensuring the development of independent media in Kosovo. In addition, AMPEK will seek to advance cooperation and communication between minority and Albanian media and journalists.

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Kosovo
$54,000
To continue fostering public debate on key transition issues facing Kosovo, as well as promoting the transparency and accountability of its government. BIRN will produce approximately 40 television debates on important social, political, and economic topics affecting Kosovar citizens. The award-winning weekly program “Life in Kosovo” will be broadcast by the public service broadcaster RTK, and select episodes will be shown on B92 in Serbia.

Center for Peace and Tolerance
$22,750
To promote youth activism in Kosovo’s new municipalities by developing the skills of youth residing in the Serb enclaves and enabling them to play a more significant role in advocating for youth related issues. The Center will organize trainings to assist young people in becoming more engaged in their communities, facilitate local advocacy campaigns, and produce a short documentary presenting the work of the program.

DokuFest
$39,000
To continue fostering public debate on human rights and democracy issues in Kosovo. DokuFest will organize a civic education program utilizing screenings of politically and socially themed documentaries for high school students in Prizren and surrounding towns, and create an educational package integrating documentary films into high school curricula. Endowment funds will also partially cover production of the DokuFest annual human rights film festival in Prizren.

Forum for Civic Initiatives (FIQ)
$44,750
To monitor the progress made by Kosovo on its path to joining the European Union. FIQ will provide a common framework for civil society actors to monitor the work of relevant government bodies, as well as elaborate policy recommendations and offer technical assistance. FIQ and its partners will prepare quarterly monitoring reports as well as a comprehensive report on the rule of law in Kosovo.

Initiative for Progress (INPO)
$37,780
To encourage effective local government and increase citizen participation in decision-making processes. INPO will monitor local institutions, governments, and municipal assemblies in four municipalities of southern Kosovo. By publishing monitoring reports and organizing regular public events and TV debates, INPO will seek to improve public access to information, and facilitate communication between citizens and elected officials at all levels of government.

Institute for Advanced Studies GAP
$37,000
To advance the rule of law in Kosovo by promoting public participation in decision-making and legislative processes and raising awareness about the content and implementation of current legislation. GAP’s team of experts will analyze existing legislation, identify amendments needed to improve implementation, advocate for improved legislative procedures, and organize public events that will help civil society to better participate in legislative processes.

Kosova Democratic Institute (KDI)
$46,600
To promote the transparency and accountability of Kosovo’s parliament and citizen participation in political processes. KDI will monitor the parliament’s work for compliance with existing legislation and procedures, track the overall legislative process and trends, and publish the results in scorecard reports and policy papers. It will also organize a series of roundtables, press conferences, and public meetings between MPs and their constituents.

Kosova Live News Agency
$50,000
To continue promoting the accessibility of high quality, unbiased information in the country. Kosova Live will provide its daily news service, available in Albanian and Bosnian/Serbian, free of charge to 26 local radio stations that otherwise would not have access to independent sources of information. Half of the recipient radio stations either broadcast in a minority language or are multilingual.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$30,000
To further develop a cadre of promising young leaders by equipping youth activists with the knowledge and skills to recruit, organize, and lead peers in community projects. Participants will use advanced training to design advocacy projects which respond to specific local needs in Mitrovica and the surrounding municipalities. NDI will guide participants in executing strategic plans and communicating activism successes to members of their communities.

Radio KIM
$33,330
To continue producing high quality, unbiased programming targeting Kosovo’s Serb and other minority communities. The nonpartisan news programming will provide information and promote debate on key developments in the three newly formed municipalities of Gracanica, Strpce and Klokot, foster better communication with the local governments, and contribute to citizens’ ability to hold decision-makers accountable for their policies and actions.

Speak Up
$39,780
To foster accountability and transparency in Kosovo by raising awareness about conflict of interest legislation and encouraging its effective enforcement. Speak Up will investigate and publish information about specific cases of conflict of interest, advocate for the adoption of proper legislation and procedures on the issue, and implement a public awareness campaign on the dangers of conflict of interest and specific cases of misuse of public office.

Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) - Kosovo
$76,800
To encourage and promote youth activism and ethnic reconciliation among youth from Kosovo. The YIHR will conduct a small grants program for local civic initiatives focusing on interethnic reconciliation and regional cooperation. The YIHR will provide financial and technical assistance to encourage young activists from different ethnic backgrounds to cooperate on resolving local problems and participate in decision-making processes, human rights campaigns and civic life.

The grant listings posted here are from the 2010 Annual Report, published in August 2011.