Empowering Citizens – Fighting Corruption through Social Media in Kosovo

Photo: Kosovo pupils in an overcrowded classroom

320 pupils were attending classes in provisional shelters in absence of a proper school. After InternewsKosovaand BIRN received reports through a platform which was created to report corruption cases and proved beneficial for other issues as well. They conducted in-depth research, interviews with teachers and parents and visits to the school, and, at the end, the case was addressed by the Ministry of Education which publicly promised that the school will be built in 2014.

In partnership with InternewsKosova and theBalkan Investigative Reporting Network(BIRN), UNDP has developed a web-platform “www.kallxo.com” which allows Kosovo citizens to report corruption in real time through multiple channels, including social media, SMS and the web. By visualizing and mapping reported corruption cases in the internet, the project aims to attract citizens’ participation and raise awareness on the level and form of corruption occurring in Kosovo.

One year after launching the platform, approximately 900 cases were reported, ranging from corruption in government, educational institutions, fraud at the local level, misconduct of public officials, etc.

Because of this success, www.kallxo.com is now also increasingly being used to report inefficiencies in delivering public services at the local level. To date, around 30 municipalities in Kosovo have placed an iFrame of www.kallxo.com on their official website to facilitate the municipality’s interaction with the citizens.