In this episode of the VoiCEE podcast, Nicholas Watson, editor of Reporting Democracy, part of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, discusses BIRN’s latest “Trends Report” with Claudia Ciobanu, BIRN’s Warsaw correspondent; Edit Inotai, its Budapest correspondent; Jules Eisenchteter, its Prague correspondent; and Gyula Csak, its editor for investigative international projects.

Titled Life in the Time of "Polycrisis", this year’s report looks at the interplay of various crises, such as the climate emergency, migration, global economic turmoil, conflict in Europe and the Middle East and the lingering effects of the pandemic. It identifies and examines five trends in the region that BIRN believes will play out during the rest of this year:

Regional Stability: Global Headwinds, Ahoy!
Democracy and Democrats: Coming and Going
Domestic and Foreign Policy: "Sovereignty" Makes a Comeback
Media Freedom: EU Action Could Stop the Decline... For Some
Poverty In the Region: No End in Sight

In this podcast series, we look at the region from different angles and perspectives, attempting to capture its diversity and understand emerging trends. Above all, we want to give a voice to a region that is often talked to rather than listened to.

The VoiCEE is brought to you by a network of independent English-language media in Central and Eastern Europe: Reporting Democracy, VSquare, New Eastern Europe, Notes from Poland, Kafkadesk, Insight Hungary, Internews Ukraine, Transitions, Ukraine World.

To not miss any news and insight from our network, sign up for our newsletter here and follow us on Twitter.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Get the future of podcasts.