Stakeholders

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental human rights organization with different seats around the globe. Its staff consists of human rights professionals including country experts, lawyers, journalists, and academics. Among many other topics, HRW focuses on free speech and press freedom (link directly to the HRW press freedom section ).

IFEX

IFEX was created in 1992 in Montréal, Canada, when a dozen leading free expression organisations came together to create a coordinated mechanism to rapidly expose free expression violations around the world.

The IFEX network of organisations is connected by a shared commitment to defend and promote freedom of expression as a fundamental human right. IFEX members work at the local, national, regional and international level, spanning 65 countries

Independent Communication Network Bianet

The Independent Communication Network (BIA/Bianet) is the centrepiece of the IPS Communication Foundation. Bianet is an ongoing project trying to strenghten the independent media in Turkey. The center publishes periodic reports on the situation of media freedom and safety of journalists in the country in Turkish and English.

Independent Journalism Center of Moldova

The Independent Journalism Center (IJC) is one of the first media organizations in Moldova. It was founded in 1994 as a project of the Open World House, and in 1998 it became an independent organization.

Currently, the IJC defines its mission through the prism of democratic values by contributing to the consolidation of free and viable media — including new media — by means of training programs for journalists, media education, advocacy campaigns, research, and non-profit journalistic products. From a legal point of view, the IJC is a non-governmental, non-commercial, and apolitical organization.

Over the years, the IJC has launched and carried out various projects to improve both working conditions for journalists in Moldova and the national legal framework governing the media. Also, various actions have been conducted in support of press freedom or to strengthen the solidarity of the media community and to promote professional ethics.

Since February 2000, the IJC has been a member of the South East European Network for the Professionalization of the Media (SEENPM) and since June 2001 has been a member of the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX).

The IJC currently manages four portals: Media Azi which is used to publish media news, information about IJC activities, reports, and studies; Mediacritica, designed to promote media literacy and critical thinking; Moldova Azi, a multimedia resource providing access to all video materials produced by the IJC Campaign and Production Department; and the website of the School of Advanced Journalism.

Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia

Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) is a professional organization with around 3300 members.

Founded in 1994, NUNS has as its main objectives the promotion of free and pluralist media in Serbia; the advancement of professional and ethical standards; the protection of the rights and interests of media professionals as well as the promotion of cooperation among journalists and journalist organizations in the country and abroad.

Index on Censorship

Index on Censorship is an international organisation that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression. Founded in 1972 to publish the untold stories of dissidents behind the Iron Curtain, today Index uses a combination of journalism, campaigning and advocacy to defend freedom of expression for those facing censorship and repression, including journalists, writers, social media users, bloggers, artists, politicians, scientists, academics, activists and citizens.

Index runs several projects on media freedom and provides practical support for journalists and media practitioners under threat.

Initiative for Freedom of Expression

Initiative for Freedom of Expression is a Turkey-based association and movement of civil disobedience, working on the right to freedom of expression. It is a member of the global network IFEX .

Since 2000, it publishes annual reports on the situation of freedom of expression in Turkey and distributes them among the main Non-Governmental Organizations, as well as to the media institutions. Every week, the Initiative publishes a Weekly Bulletin in Turkish and in English. Since 1997, it organizes biennial "Gatherings for Freedom of Expression" in Istanbul. Together with other stakeholders, it created the ÇTL database (Current Trial Library), recording thought crime cases. It opened a virtual and interactive Museum of the Crimes of Thought .

Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture

The Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture (IDMC) is a NGO based in Tirana (Albania). Its aim is to understand and promote the development of democratic values and the role and impact that media and culture can play both locally and globally.

Institute of European Media Law

The Institute of European Media Law (EMR) is a Europe-wide network of over 180 legal experts based in Saarbrücken (Germany). The EMR was founded in 1990 as a non-profit association; today it is a partner of numerous national and European institutions. The Institute acts as a service provider and neutral platform in a number of fields of media law and policy. Thanks to its network which comprises over 180 national experts from 40 European countries, it is particularly able to carry out comparative legal studies. The EMR organises conferences and publishes research results in different publications, including its own series of books.

EMR is among the funding partners of the ECPMF.

Institute of Mass Information (Ukraine)

The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) is a Kiev-based non-governmental organization whose objective is to defend journalists’ rights, to upgrade their professional skills and to consolidate press freedom in Ukraine.

IMI publishes regular news about violations of press freedom in Ukraine, as well as extensive reports and analyses of press freedom in the country.