Hosting a Wikipedian in Residence - Article

Building on a previous Wiki GLAM initiative, Wiki4MediaFreedom aims at boosting the availability of accurate knowledge on media freedom and pluralism in Europe on Wikipedia, resulting in open-access, freely reusable quality contents for the wider public in multiple languages.

Wiki4MediaFreedom editorial effort has focussed on media landscapes and media freedom-related issues in the Visegrád countries and the 3 Baltic States, as well as in South-east Europe, the Eastern Partnership countries and Turkey. Four key aspects have received particular attention: transparency of media ownership; media concentration; access to public information; censorship and self-censorship, with a set of country entries developed for each of them.

People who are willing to contribute, learn and help disseminate in languages other than English relevant information on these topics are very welcome to join!

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - Stakeholders

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. Specific attention is devoted to freedom of the media through the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media that observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States, providing early warning on violations of freedom of expression and promoting full compliance with OSCE press freedom commitments.

Council of Europe - Stakeholders

The Council of Europe (CoE) is Europe's leading human rights organization seated in Strasbourg (France). The Convention on Human Rights, signed by all 47 CoE member states, is an international treaty designed to ensure the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights, a CoE organ, ensures the implementation of the treaty. The CoE work is organized through committees working on more specific topics within the vast field of Human rights, while the commissioner for Human Rights is an impartial institution established by the Council of Europe in 1999.

The Committee of experts on protection of journalism and safety of journalists (MSI-JO) is an inter-governmental committee operating within the Council of Europe. The MSI-JO mandate is to work on the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and other media actors, taking account of the implementation of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists. official website

 The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media focuses on issues relating to culture, science, education, youth, sport and media in Europe. It has tree sub-commitees among which the Sub-Committee on Media and Information Society. official website

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an impartial and non-judicial institution established by the Council of Europe in order to to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the 47 member states. His/Her main activities include country visits, conducting studies and giving advice on systematic human rights work, as well as rising awareness of topics related to human rights. official website

European Parliament - Stakeholders

The European Parliament (EP) is an Organ of the European Union (EU) that is seated in Strasbourg (France) and Brussels (Belgium) and whose members are directly elected by voters in all Member States to represent people’s interests with regard to EU law-making and to make sure that other EU institutions are working democratically. EP's work is takes place in plenary sessions as well as in Committees on more specific topics.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is a standing Committee within the European Parliament. It is responsible for the vast majority of the legislation and democratic oversight of the Union of citizens' rights, human rights and fundamental rights. Whilst doing so, it ensures the full respect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights within the EU, the European Convention on Human Rights and the strengthening of European citizenship. LIBE official website

The Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) is a subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. DROI main responsibilities include all matters relating to human rights, the protection of minorities and the promotion of democratic values while its geographical remit covers countries outside the EU. The subcommittee's main objectives involve ensuring that human rights are at the forefront of European foreign policy and mainstreaming human rights across all policy areas. DROI official website

Criminal Defamation Laws in Europe - Reports

Germany revealed as leading user of criminal defamation laws among 18 countries surveyed by the International Press Institute

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) - Stakeholders

Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) is a think tank launched in 2000 and based in Trento (Italy). It focuses on South-East Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus. Over time, OBCT expanded its scope and now reports on the socio-political and cultural developments of six EU member states, of seven countries taking part in the EU Enlargement process, and much of post-communist Europe, which is included in the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). 

In 2014, OBCT led the project Safety Net for European Journalists and since 2015 it is part of the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF ).

Balancing act: Press freedom at risk as EU struggles to match action with values - Reports

In this 2015 report, the Committee to Protect Journalists highlights challenges faced by the EU related to press freedom record. Member states adoption of repressive laws and regulations are as dangerous as the EU failure to act swiftly when countries renege on their commitments

Media reform stalled in the slow lane. Soft censorship in Serbia - Reports

The document released by WAN-IFRA in collaoration with BIRN as part of the project on soft censorship around the world, reports on Soft Censorship practices and its effects on media liberty in Serbia

Assessment of media system in Macedonia - Reports

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) presents different causes of the drastic deterioration of press freedom in the country. Among the elements considered are the abuse of legal proceedings, the connection among media, public money and advertisement, as well as the need for amending the law on audiovisual media services and public broadcasting

Major Trends of Media Development during Post-Communist Transition - Albania - Reports

The study, prepared by Ilda Londo and published by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Albania, concentrates on the media situation and the current challenges in Albania since 1991