SEE Digital Rights Network – March 2023 Newsletter

2023-03-31

HIGHLIGHTS

In the last couple of months all of us have been working hard and have been producing and organising interesting things in the field of digital rights!
SAVE THE DATE: THE DIGITAL GREEN SOCIETY in Belgrade
SAVE THE DATE! Share is organising a conference 
The Digital Green Society which will explore the intersection between technology, human rights and technology. It will gather key actors to discuss the current challenges and potential advocacy plans regarding the connection between technology and the climate crisis. The conference will occur between 
14-16 May 2023 , in 
Belgrade, Serbia . Registrations are now open and you can register 
here . Do note we will be able 
to support one person per  organisation to join us in Belgrade. 

National SEE Digital Rights Network meeting 
The first National SEE Digital Rights Network meeting for network members from Serbia in Belgrade was held on February 20, 2023. Thirteen people from different organizations, some of which are potential Network members, met to discuss the potential for new collaborations and projects in the area of digital rights. More information can be found here . Other national meetings are currently being planned and organizations will be informed on time.
Colaborative Project
As a part of a joint project with KotorArt and Share Foundation, SCiDEV produced the Personal Data Breaches timeline for Albania. The Network’s member SCiDEV also produced a report Mapping personal data violations in Albania: A short retrospective on massive breaches in the country . At the end of 2022, the public discussion and presentation of the report was organized.
If you have something that you would like to share with the Network, please do not hesitate to write to us so we can include it in the next Newsletter.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR MEMBERS 

KOSOVO
ABOUT US
 
Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Kosovo (YIHR KS) was established in 2004. For more than fifteen (15) years, YIHR KS has worked successfully to protect and promote human rights and democratic values not only in Kosovo but also in the region. In particular, YIHR KS is focused on the process of dealing with the past, protecting human rights and the rule of law, and strengthening youth at the local and regional levels. YIHR KS has three programs: Human Rights & Rule of Law, Dealing with the Past, and Youth Empowerment.

OUR CONTENT/PROJECT/ETC WE THINK IS RELEVANT FOR THE NETWORK
 
Human Rights and Rule of Law is one of the programs of YIHR KS. We continuously work on promoting, protecting, and improving the situation of human rights in Kosovo, including digital rights. Amon the projects we implement are “Youth for Justice” project, “Kosovo Youth Dialog”,“Building the Capacities of Human Rights CSOs and Enhancing Human Rights Situation” and so on. Within the activities we have, we usually talk about the digital rights, digital security, and cyber security and we try to raise awareness among citizens about these topics.
WHAT IS OUR SUPERPOWER?
 
Our superpower is definitely the activism that keeps the organization alive. YIHR KS has a huge number of activists who are in the frontline when it comes to human rights protection. They continuously work on promoting, protecting, and improving human rights.

NORTH MACEDONIAABOUT US
 
Institute of Communication Sutudies (ICS) is an academic, nonprofit institution and a leading research organization in the field of journalism and media studies, public relations, and corporate communications. It was established in 2012 by the School for Journalism and Public Relations (SJPR). Since 2019, ICS and SJPR have consolidated their resources to make a vanguard education and research hub on communications and media at ICS.
At the ICS, we contribute to improving quality standards of communication and information, transparency and accountability via education, research, projects, training programs and specialized content.
ICS offers one-year and two-year master’s degrees in strategic communications, media management and multimedia. We are the only higher education institution in Macedonia that runs its own academic blog – Res Publica ( www.respublica.edu.mk) and in 2022 we launched Kairos – Journal of Media and Communications Review.
Aside from ResPublica, ICS runs three more platforms:
Just Ask (samoprasaj.mk) which allows citizens to ask a questionс and comment on social problems, and in return to receive a relevant answer from public institutions. In addition, on Just Ask we publish journalistic stories about different topics of public interest.
Doma ( www.doma.edu.mk) is an online platform through which we research, analyze, inform, and educate on topics related to the environment, biodiversity, sustainable practices, and environmental awareness.
Medium ( www.medium.edu.mk) is an online platform dedicated to promoting media and information literacy.
Other areas of our expertise include curriculum development, development of online educational courses and resources, campaigning and lobbying, development of communication strategies, event management and media content production.
OUR CONTENT/PROJECT/ETC WE THINK IS RELEVANT FOR THE NETWORK
 
ICS is at the forefront of promoting media literacy (ML) among citizens in collaboration with media, civil society organizations, academic and public institutions. It provides information, in-class and online educational courses and resources, and opportunities for effective and responsible use of media by all stakeholders.
ISC currently is implementing two major projects dedicated to dealing with disinformation and media literacy education.
The first one is “Use Facts: Fact-Based Journalism for Raising Awareness and Countering Disinformation in the Media Space in North Macedonia” which aims to provide support to citizens, journalists, and civil society organizations to increase public understanding of the origin, motives, and impact of disinformation in society. The project is financed by the British Embassy in Skopje and will last until March 2025.
And the other one is “YouThink” which focuses on developing the critical thinking skills and critical approach to information in young people that they need to build resistance to misinformation and contribute to building active, responsible citizenship. The project is implemented with the support of USAID by ICS, IREX, the Macedonian Institute for Media, and the Youth Educational Forum.
WHAT IS OUR SUPERPOWER
 
Our organizations focus – the art and science of communication is our superpower. The knowledge, skills, and methods to simplify, adapt and share complex topics and phenomena of the nature and society among the broad public audience are our secret weapons to make changes in the society.

***We would like to invite you to help us build this newsletter in following months by sharing news and important information coming from your organizations. We want to include the important work that you all do as well.