News and updates from BCSDN and the region
Short Description: People Powered, in partnership with the Democracy Narratives Alliance (DNA), invites creators worldwide to submit visual stories that inspire new narratives about democracy. The call seeks creative content that explores how people can collectively shape decisions affecting their communities and futures. Eligible formats include short videos, illustrations and graphics, with awards for the
Read more →Short Description: Democracy Forward is an inspiration festival bringing together civil society, thinkers, practitioners and other stakeholders to exchange ideas and practices for strengthening democracy. The programme focuses on citizen participation, trust in information and media, inclusion of less-heard voices, public spaces and the future of democracy. Participation is free and limited to 80 participants.
Read more →Short Description: Call for country and thematic chapters for an edited academic volume examining how civil society responds to and contains authoritarian threats. Contributions may analyse country experiences or cross-country themes and strategies, including protests, strategic litigation, coalition-building, international advocacy, digital security, monitoring, and responses to propaganda and disinformation. Selected chapters should be up to
Read more →The European Commission has published its 2026 Rule of Law Report, including country chapters for Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The report identifies persistent challenges affecting civic space, including pressure on civil society and journalists, SLAPPs, political interference, restrictions on fundamental freedoms, and limited access to information. It also highlights uneven public consultation practices,
Read more →The Civil Society & Think Tank Forum (CSF) 2026 will take place from 5–7 October in Prishtina, organised by the Open Society Foundations – Western Balkans in partnership with the Government of Kosovo and in cooperation with the Government of Montenegro under the Berlin Process Chairmanship. As the official civil society platform of the Berlin
Read more →BIRN’s latest regional digital rights report documents 152 violations recorded in the first quarter of 2026, highlighting increasing pressure on digital rights across the Western Balkans and Türkiye. The report identifies economic fraud, online harassment, gender-based violence, data breaches and coordinated attacks targeting journalists and civil society as the region’s most pressing digital rights challenges.
Read more →Albania has provisionally closed its first three negotiating chapters in its EU accession process, marking a significant milestone on its path towards EU membership. At the ninth Accession Conference, the country closed the chapters on Science and Research (25), Education and Culture (26), and External Relations (30) following the European Commission’s positive assessment of its
Read more →A report by the IPI and Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium warns that media freedom in Serbia is facing a deepening crisis. The findings point to record levels of violence against journalists, death threats, online smear campaigns, SLAPPs, surveillance and growing political control over the media landscape. In 2025 alone, 209 press freedom violations
Read more →More than 30 Albanian CSOs, independent media outlets and human rights defenders, including BCSDN member Partners Albania, have issued a joint public statement condemning recurring smear campaigns and public attacks against journalists, activists and civil society. The signatories warn that these attacks are part of a broader pattern aimed at shifting attention away from issues
Read more →Serbia’s failure to open Cluster 3 in its EU accession negotiations has reinforced concerns that meaningful democratic reforms remain a prerequisite for further progress in the enlargement process. Despite legislative efforts and last-minute reform commitments, persistent shortcomings in the rule of law, judicial independence, media freedom, institutional accountability and alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign
Read more →The SafeJournalists Network has called for an urgent investigation into death threats against Rami Mislimi, a journalist with Tetova Sot, following his reporting on the President of the Tetovo Municipal Council. According to the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), Mislimi received phone threats targeting both him and his minor child, demanding the removal of
Read more →The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) has renewed its call for the full decriminalisation of offences against honour and reputation, urging the Government to remove insult and defamation from the Criminal Code as part of the upcoming legislative amendments. While welcoming Croatia’s new Anti-SLAPP law, HND warns that its safeguards do not extend to criminal proceedings,
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