Privacy week: Future of the Western Balkans in Digital Europe
We wish to share with you a very exciting opportunity, that is, we wish to invite you to participate in a closed roundtable on the Future of the Western Balkans in Digital Europe on January 25th, from 16 to 18h. This roundtable is organized by Partners Serbia, in cooperation with OSCE Mission to Serbia, and with the support of the Open Society Foundation, Serbia all within the Privacy Week Conference. We will explore legislative and institutional preconditions for future implementation of the EU’s Digital Service Act (DSA) with a special focus on privacy protection, internet freedom, and human rights in general. The roundtable will gather researchers, civil society organizations, and media outlets from Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania to provide their opinions and insights on the issue. The meeting will take place in a hybrid format, both online and in person participation is possible, so please contact milica.tosic@partners-serbia,org if you wish to participate.
EU proposal of the AI regulation adopted
Starting from December 2023, the use of artificial intelligence in the EU will be regulated by the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law. At first, the adopted solutions did not fully meet the expectations of human rights organizations and activists, because the “predictive” systems were expected to only be partially prohibited, meaning that not all applications of artificial intelligence systems in policing and “crime prediction” were classified as unacceptable risks. The concern was the possibility that any application of artificial intelligence systems in the context of “national security” would be entirely exempt from the regulation’s scope, including bans on unacceptable risks and transparency requirements. Moreover, the Post-Remote Biometric Identification is not banned, but a high-risk category and only possible if there is a prior judicial authorization, or if it is strictly necessary in an investigation for the targeted search of a person convicted or suspected of having committed a serious criminal offence that already took place. You can read more about this here.
Share Foundation worked with our network member Politiscope and Ella Jakubowska from EDRi on a new publication “Beyond the Face: Biometrics and Society”. It is one of the most comprehensive explorations of facial recognition and other biometric surveillance systems globally. It speaks about the advancement of biometric processing and the harms foreseeable. The study will be published and promoted in Brussel and Berlin by the end of the year.
See more → SHARE Foundation
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Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) from Albania
Founded in 1999 and based in Tirana, the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) is a prominent think tank. IDM’s programmatic areas encompass Governance and Public Integrity; Civic Space; Security Sector Reform; EU Accession Process; Local Governance and Integrated Development.
IDM’s core mission revolves around advancing societal capacities, and providing knowledge and skills for inclusive policy-making and informed decision-making, to bolster democracy and sustainable development. It specializes in generating expertise, policy analysis, and applied research, as well as building capacities of key societal actors and developing partnerships, to drive reforms and engage in evidence-based policy processes.
More information is available at www.idmalbania.org and 
OUR CONTENT/PROJECT/ETC WE THINK IS RELEVANT FOR THE NETWORK
IDM recognizes the vital significance of digital rights and cybersecurity in the dynamic landscape of today’s digital world. As Albania undergoes rapid digitization, technology assumes a central role in governance, public communication, and service delivery, closely intertwined with all our programmatic areas of work. The digital realm has become pivotal in preserving democracy, and civil and political rights, and fostering citizen engagement. Recent cyberattacks on the Albanian government and breaches of personal data underscore the pressing need for increased vigilance, public awareness, and active participation from civil society.
Some of our research and capacity-building initiatives, relevant to the focus of the network, are accessible here:
- Research Report: Bridging the Gap Between Cyber Policy Fragmentation and Human Rights: Provides a comprehensive mapping of human rights issues related to cybersecurity in Albania, with a focus on the right to privacy, freedom of expression, protection from discrimination, and freedom of assembly. (2022)
- Study: The freedom to defend rights in online spaces: Challenges for women human rights defenders in Albania: Examines the types of abuses faced by Albanian Women Human Rights Defenders in cyberspace, applying a gendered lens in analyzing how women perceive these violations, the motives and impact of such abuse, and the effectiveness of response and reporting mechanisms. It also explores the role of public authorities, media, and digital platforms. (2023)
- Digital literacy event ‘’Defending Defenders in Cyber-Civic Space’’: Tailored to equipping human rights defenders and journalists in Albania with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves online, this CryptoParty event was hosted in Tirana by IDM partnering with local tech experts. (2023)
- Policy analysis: Explores Albania’s digital transformation and the human rights costs related to it. (2023)
- Annual Public Opinion Poll Trust in Governance: Explores public perceptions and attitudes on issues such as trust in public institutions transparency and accountability, corruption, citizen engagement, satisfaction with public-service delivery, etc., including equal access to digital services and aspects of personal data protection. (2013-2022)
WHAT IS OUR SUPER POWER?
IDM stands as a leading and well-established organisation in Albania renowned for its prowess in conducting independent research. Our adept team of in-house experts, alongside esteemed associates, specialize in matters such as governance, civic space, and security, which are interconnected with digital rights. In recent years, IDM has significantly emphasized the realm of digitalization and cyber governance, delving into their impacts on human rights, civic space, and democratic processes. In this regard, IDM has contributed through research, advocacy, and collaboration with local stakeholders like independent media, activists, civil society organisations, and the tech community. We are committed to sustaining our engagement in this vital domain, contributing our expertise and commitment to further the network’s overarching objectives.
Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja – Slovenia
ABOUT US
Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja is a Slovenian NGO founded in 2013 that works at the intersection of democracy and technology. We use digital technology and the internet to improve the work of our democracy, create dialogue on public issues, facilitate participation, and push for transparency. We work on democratising technology, making sure the process of digitalisation and new technologies being rolled out protect human rights and dignity.
Our mission is to promote open data and participatory decision making processes on the internet by developing and implementing open source web-based tools and platforms. We are committed to promoting active participation, developing civil society and dialogue on public affairs, protecting the public commons, and advocating for a transformation of the socio-political system for the good of society and nature.
Our team has experience in advocacy, designing and developing digital tools, conducting research, coalition building and more. We work with other NGOs, municipalities, ministries, and other stakeholders, on the national and European level.
OUR CONTENT/PROJECT/ETC WE THINK IS RELEVANT FOR THE NETWORK
- First edition of DISCO Slovenia, Digital Sovereignty Conference, where the community came together, learned, and shared. This year’s event was focused on how we reclaim sovereignty over our digital destiny. You can watch the first day here, and we promise we’ll organise another edition where we can all meet!
- A comprehensive study of the transparency and openness of Slovenian municipalities with analysis of all 212 municipalities, offering a much needed insight into the level of local government’s transparency and concrete recommendations for municipalities.
- An advocacy campaign for Slovenia’s national position on AI act with Amnesty International Slovenija and PIC to better support human rights in the field of policing, national security, and border control.
WHAT IS OUR SUPERPOWER?
Creating a digital campaign from start to finish! As our team consists of people with communication, programming, design, writing, strategy, planning, marketing, philosophy, and various other skills, we deploy a unique combination of expertise and insights into social movements in order to communicate essential social and ethical issues through high impact projects and actions.
BIRN’s Digital Rights Annual Conference 2023 will take place on December 5-6 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event will also be available through live streaming. The conference will gather experts in the field of digital rights to discuss current trends in the Balkans and South East Europe. More specifically, the conference will focus on digital rights violations, the political and social influences on the rise, youth and digital rights, and it will include the first regional meeting of members of our Southeast Europe Digital Rights Network [SEE Digital Rights Network] members.