The Association of Journalists of Kosovo, with support from NDI Kosovo and USAID Kosovo, organized the study visit to Skopje from April 5th to 7th.
During their visit to North Macedonia, journalism students and professionals from the second edition of the Information Integrity Academy visited the premises of the Association of Macedonian Journalists (AJM). There, they met with the Executive Director, Dragan Sekulovski, Milan Spirovski, and Verce Todorovska Kostovska – the national researchers.
Academy participants engaged in discussions to understand the state of media and journalism in North Macedonia. They also shared experiences and provided insights to AJM hosts regarding the situation of journalists in Kosovo. Additionally, discussions revolved around Kosovo and North Macedonia’s positions in various indices related to journalist safety and other media-related aspects.
The visit proceeded with a meeting at the Metamorphosis Foundation, where we were welcomed by Bardhyl Jashari – Executive Director, Goran Rizaov – Program Manager, Vladimir Peterski – Project Manager, and Meri Jardonovska – Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Meta.mk. Participants discussed hate speech, disinformation, and foreign malign influence. Participants also delved into the necessity of promoting media literacy, shared experiences in fact-checking, and combating misinformation.
Subsequently, participants toured the premises of the national television, Alsat.mk, where they gained insight into the work and bilingualism from the editor Shkelzen Aqifi. They discussed work processes and challenges encountered in story realization, among other topics.
The study visit concluded with a meeting at the offices of Pikasa Analytics. Participants learned about the work of Pikasa from Meriton Nagavci – a data analyst. They were briefed on Pikasa’s platform, and data analysis methodologies, and had the opportunity to explore the impact of social media on reaching wider audiences in detail.
