On June 24, 2025, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) team organized an online training for representatives of civil society organizations from the region, focused on investigative journalism techniques and the analysis of notable corruption cases in the region. The training is part of SELDI’s efforts to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations that are recipients of the SELDI Small Grants Program. Participants included grantees as well as other organizations from the region that applied to the Program’s call.
The training was conducted by representatives of the Center for Monitoring and Research, and the Organization for Democracy, Anti-Corruption, and Dignity – COHU, a SELDI partner organization from Kosovo. Besnik Boletini, investigative journalist at COHU/Preportr, and Altin Ademi, Executive Director of COHU, as trainers shared their expertise gained through years of experience in the field.
Participants were introduced to methods for investigating political patronage and political party financing, including how to identify patterns of influence and misuse of public funds. For practical context, the trainers presented examples of investigations in Kosovo’s environmental and agricultural sectors, such as the case of industrial pollution from Ferronikeli and irregularities in the allocation of agricultural subsidies. Whereas, issues in the healthcare sector were illustrated through the case of smuggled cytostatics, showing how investigators used undercover visits, barcode tracking, and pharmaceutical records to uncover serious lapses in oversight.
With the primary goal of building investigative skills, participants were introduced to various digital tools and resources for conducting online investigations, including platforms for company research, photo verification, and accessing archived web content. The trainers also provided guidance on conducting investigations via social media and accessing financial and lobbying data from European Union platforms.
The session concluded with a review of several high-profile corruption cases from across the region and a discussion among participants on shared challenges and future action.
The training video is available at THIS LINK, while the presentation can be downloaded at THIS LINK
The training is part of the project “Civil Society for Good Governance and Anti-Corruption in Southeast Europe: Capacity Building for Evidence-Based Advocacy, Policy Impact and Citizen Engagement (SELDI.net),” funded by the European Union.
