Global Forum for Media Development - Stakeholders

The Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) is an international membership network of media assistance groups that highlights the importance of independent, pluralistic and sustainable media in social and economic development.

GFMD members share the common goal to foster free, professional and pluralistic media, leading to more open societies, greater transparency and enhanced freedom of expression by means of advocacy work, coordination, information sharing and research.

Human Rights Watch - Stakeholders

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 ).

UNESCO - Stakeholders

UNESCO is the UN specialized agency with the mandate to promote "the free flow of ideas by word and image", and to nurture freedom of expression, media development, and access to information. It provides governments with technical advice on legal, regulatory, policy and other critical issues, and educates and builds capacities of journalists, media professionals and institutions.

UNESCO has a long-standing experience of promoting freedom of expression and media development in transitional countries, particularly in South East Europe and Turkey. In this respect, UNESCO contributed to the Guidelines for EU support to media freedom and integrity in enlargement countries 2014-2020.

From 2009 until 2011, UNESCO implemented the project "Alignment to International Standards in the Media Sector of South East European countries". From 2013 to 2015, a second project was implemented under the title "Media Accountability in South East Europe". In January 2016, the project "Building Trust in Media in South East Europe and Turkey " was launched, with the aim of supporting media accountability mechanisms, internal governance of media entities and media and information literacy in EU candidate and potential candidate countries with financial support of the European Commission, DG Near. 

Media Development Foundation - Stakeholders

The Media Development Foundation (MDF), is a non-governmental organization based in Tbilisi (Georgia) aiming to support open and inclusive society, facilitating full integration of minorities, promoting gender equality, diversity and pluralism protect human rights, freedom of speech and expression by ensuring a free and professional media environment.