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.

Electronic Frontier Foundation - Stakeholders

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in the US, aiming to defend civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. It works to ensure that rights and freedoms are enhanced and protected as people's use of technology grows.

Universität Wien (University of Vienna) - Stakeholders

The Media Governance and Industries Research Lab of the University of Vienna studies the processes of and challenges posed by governance of communication processes and the media in relation to Democracy, Citizenship and Human Rights. Its work is both theory and practice driven and it aims to bridge academic systematic enquiry and theory together with applicability and solution driven research. 

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.

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) - Stakeholders

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the world's largest organisation of journalists. First established as the Fédération Internationale des Journalistes (FIJ) in 1926 in Paris, it was relaunched as the International Organization of Journalists (IOJ) in 1946 but lost its Western members to the Cold War and re-emerged in its present form in 1952 in Brussels. Today the Federation represents around 600,000 members in 140 countries.

IFJ promotes international action to defend press freedom and social justice through strong, free and independent trade unions of journalists. Its Safety Programme includes casework, protests, campaigns, information and production of various publications. The Safety Fund, established in 1992, is an integral part of this programme that provides immediate financial relief to journalists in financial straits as a result of work-related reasons, such as:

• Forced exile due to threats at home
• Litigation
• Medical Expenses
• Travel costs

The request for assistance has to be submitted either to the IFJ regional offices in the applicant’s region or directly to the IFJ Human Rights and Communications Officer in Brussels.

Blueprint for Free Speech - Stakeholders

Based in Australia but with offices throughout the world, Blueprint for Free Speech is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving freedom of expression as described by the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Among various activities, it provides a free library of research and analysis about freedom of expression laws around the globe.

Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection - Stakeholders

The Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection is a regional organization dedicated to strengthening legal protections and rights for whistleblowers. It does so by investigating whistleblower cases and raising awareness of the value of whistleblowing to fight crime and corruption. The Coalition is comprised of more than 30 NGOs and other groups from 13 Southeast Europe countries.

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) - Stakeholders

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) is a foundation established in 1989 in Warsaw. The HFHR is one of the most experienced and professional non-governmental organizations involved in the protection of human rights in Europe. It is active both in Poland and abroad, in particular in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucasus and Central Asia. HFHR conducts national and international trainings, organizes conferences and seminars. It provides expert consultation in the sphere of human rights and freedoms to individuals as well as to non-governmental organizations and to state institutions.

In 1993, the Foundation set up the Human Rights House in Warsaw, an international network to protect, empowers and support human rights defenders and their organizations. Today, more than 100 independent human rights organizations work together in 15 Human Rights Houses located in Eastern and Western Europe, the Caucasus and the Balkans. The headquarter of the Human Rights House Foundation is based in Oslo.

In Poland the Foundation has established the Observatory of Media Freedom , a program dedicated to monitoring the standards of protection of the freedom of expression in Poland, through legal opinions, analysis and complaints to the European Court of Human Rights.

European Digital Rights (EDRi) - Stakeholders

EDRi is an association of civil and human rights organisations  from across Europe aimed at defending rights and freedoms in the digital environment. EDRi's key priorities for the next years are privacy, surveillance, net neutrality and copyright reform.

Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) - Stakeholders

The Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) advocates for political cartoonists, defending their right to free speech. It was the first cartoon-focused human rights organization when it was founded in 1992. It organizes international campaigns for cartoonist as well as it has helped cartoonists to seek asylum from countries where they have been threatened, or suffered harassment, often from government authorities.