Media Literacy Institute - Stakeholders

MEDIA LITERACY INSTITUTE (MLI) is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 in Greece. Its aim is to promote and disseminate the concepts of Media and Information Literacy in Greece, Europe and internationally. Media and Information Literacy aims at the critical perception, use and creation of knowledge and information οn any traditional or modern communication medium, and requires the acquisition of cognitive, functional, technical and communication skills, as well as the capabilities of using modern means of communication. The mission of the Institute is to inform the Greek public about the conceptual, theoretical, regulatory and practical framework in which MIL concepts are developed. Its goal is to mobilize citizens and to provide them with opportunities to access the relevant information, skills, tools and means and to engage in appropriate activities to become media literate.

MLI supports the idea that democracy requires well-informed citizens and that Media and News Literacy are among the most important ways to combat bias and hate speech online, to promote the fundamental right of citizens to be self-aware when they interact with the media, to learn how to cross check resources, to develop skills of inquiry when investigating the resources, creators and purposes of any content, so that readers can distinguish reliable information from “fake news”, personal opinions, prejudices or propaganda.

MEDIA LITERACY INSTITUTE focuses on printed and online content such as social media, mass media, all kinds of public and frequently used communication platforms, as well as various online and offline sources. In this context, MLI emphasizes that modern active citizens of all ages need to develop the habits of curiosity,  research and creative questioning along with suitable expression skills, to cultivate the necessary critical thinking in getting information from any source, and to acquire the knowledge on how to create and use multimedia messages.

Pew Research Center - Stakeholders

The Pew Research Center is a non partisan fact tank based in Washington, D.C. conducting public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research in various research areas, including Journalism & Media.

Union of Publishers in Bulgaria - Stakeholders

Joined by 18 publishing houses producing over 40 printed products, the Union of Publishers in Bulgaria is an independent, non-governmental association united by the principles of defending the freedom of the press, the independence of journalists and the encouragement of their work so that society is objectively informed. The main goals of the Union are: to defend freedom of speech and the independence of the Bulgarian print media; to contribute for the improvement of the quality of Bulgarian press; to upgrade the public prestige of print media; to establish relations of fair competition among its members; to help in solving economic issues of common interest of the newspaper publishers; to mantain mutual trust among its members.

Union of Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ) - Stakeholders

The Union of  Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ) is the largest journalists' organization in Bulgaria. It is a voluntary association of 4500 journalists from all over the country who want to protect their own professional, social and trade union rights and interests. The main goals of UBJ are as follows: the promotion of professional journalism in the Bulgarian society; the adherence to professional standards and ethics; the protection of media freedom and independent press; the expression of the common interests of Bulgarian journalists to public authorities; the development of international cooperation in the field of professional journalism.

Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (CPBF) - Stakeholders

The Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (CPBF) is a civil society organization based in the UK. It has been working for ‘a more accountable, freer and diverse media’ since 1979. CPBF is active in defending the principles of public service broadcasting and to argue for democratically accountable forms of broadcasting regulation.

The Campaign firmly believes that broadcasting is a public service as fundamental to the well-being of our democracy as our education and health systems, and should under no circumstances be treated as merely a producer of commodities

MEMO 98 - Stakeholders

MEMO 98 conducts media monitoring and analyses, targeting the public and policy makers, on the role of media in the election processes. MEMO 98 monitoring activity is based on international standards concerning the media and the electoral process and democratic governance. Their mission is ensuring all citizens to have free access to comprehensive information. Their primary objective of MEMO 98's monitoring is to evaluate the range of political and social diversity in media reporting. 

The association has been working for 19 years in Slovakia and abroad. The most significant international projects carried out by MEMO 98 were conducted in the former Yugoslavia (2000), Belarus (2001, 2004, 2007 and 2008), Ukraine (2004, 2015-2016), Russia (2005-11, 2015), Azerbaijan (2008, 2013-2015), Myanmar (2010-11 and 2015-16), Serbia (2012-2014) and Georgia (2013-2015).

Mediacentar Sarajevo - Stakeholders

Mediacentar Sarajevo supports the development of independent and professional journalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Over time, activities have been expanded to include:

• training programmes;
• publishing;
• media research;
• PR training and consulting services;
• AV production;
• event management;

 An integral part of Mediacentar is Infobiro , an archive of print media from B-H and the former Yugoslavia and a library containing literature on mass media. Mediacentar also publish a regional journal on culture and literature called Sarajevske Sveske (Sarajevo Notebooks) . Mediacentar was founded by Open Society Fund of B-H in 1995 in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 2000 it was registered as a separate education and research institution owned by Open Society Fund of B-H.

Sindikat medija Crne Gore - Trade Union of Media of Montenegro - Stakeholders

The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (Sindikat medija Crne Gore) deals with contractual disputes between staff and employers and provides journalists legal support, but it also participates in public-awareness campaigns around specific policy or regulatory issues that impact journalists’ reporting practices and rights.

Fög - University of Zurich - Stakeholders

Fög is a research center associated with the University of Zurich . It was established to monitor communication events, driven by three research questions:

• Social transformation, namely the long-term observation of contemporary modern societies on the basis of public communication;
• Structural transformation of the public sphere, focusing on changes in the interest patterns of public communication and their effects on society;
• Transformation of institutions, organizations and roles, investigating on how the reputation of role-bearers is transformed by the news coverage.

These issues led to three research projects, namely on on political communication (how public sphere is changing in a mediatized society), economic communication (reputation of institutions) and quality of the media. On an annual basis, Fög releases the Yearbook Quality of the Media - Switzerland.

MANS - Network for Affirmation of the NGO Sector - Stakeholders

MANS is a non-governmental organization that fights against corruption and organized crime in Montenegro. MANS struggles for a fair, open and free society of active citizens and for a government that serves the public interest. It is engaged in investigating cases of corruption and organized crime, monitoring the implementation of legislation and government policy, providing free legal aid to citizens, CSOs, media and businesses, developing law and policy proposals and analysis, conducting advocacy campaigns. It has dealt extensively with the issue of freedom of information and access to public information in Montenegro.