ECPMF, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom - Stakeholders

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in Leipzig, Germany, 2015.

It operates on the basis of  the European Charter on Freedom of the Press and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

ECPMF’s mission is to promote, preserve and defend media freedom, by monitoring violations, providing practical support and engaging diverse stakeholders across Europe.

ECPMF is the project coordinator of the MFRR, Media Freedom Rapid Response.

Civil Rights Defenders - Stakeholders

An Expert Organisation for Human Rights. CRD partners with and supports human rights defenders who work in some of the world’s most repressive regions on four continents.

Through advocacy, litigation, and public campaigns, CRD advances people’s rights globally. The organisation also acts as Sweden’s watchdog civil rights group.

Every year, CRD has The Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award, an award for outstanding work in defence of civil and political rights, to recognise a prominent human rights defender who, despite the risk to their own safety, continues the struggle for civil and political rights.
The award highlights the situation of human rights defenders at risk. It enhances their human rights work by providing international recognition and support to the organisation represented by the award recipient. The award recipient is a person who carries out their work without the use of violence and within an independent human rights organisation or network.

Among the support activities, there are security training, emergency support, expertise, organisational development, and long-term financial support.

CRD also brings together its partners so they can exchange experiences, as well as learn from and inspire each other.

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.

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.

Plataforma en Defensa de la Libertad de Información (PDLI) - Stakeholders

Plataforma en Defensa de la Libertad de Información (PDLI) is a Spanish civil society group uniting journalists, lawyers, media houses, social movements and consumer advocates.

PDLI arouse out of the concern of a group of organisations and individuals in the legal field, journalism and social movements after the deterioration of freedom of expression and information in Spain, following a series of reforms and the approval of new laws, such as the Organic Law Project on the Protection of Citizen Security, the Intellectual Property Law, the Transparency Law.

Among the activities PDLI carries out, there is the monitoring and dissemination of attacks on freedom of expression against journalists and the media, as well as against activists, social movements and citizens. PDLI also support campaign in defense of media freedom and organise training programs for journalists, activists and social movements on how to safely exercise their profession.

PDLI launched mapea.cc, an online tool to collect data on legal threats to freedom of expression.

Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation - Stakeholders

The Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation (SCF) is a foundation in memory of Serbian journalist Slavko Ćuruvija, killed in 1999. Its mission is to raise the quality of journalism in Serbia, offering support for local media, investigative journalism, as well as providing training for students of journalism. This objective is achieved by supporting independent journalists’ work in local communities through grants, programs and projects in order to strengthen their capacity to be watchdog of democracy on all levels of power, from the local one to the national one. The SCF has three areas of work : Local Media Development, Supporting Investigative Journalisms and Education Programs and Scholarship. In 2014 the Foundation launched the web portal Cenzolovka  aimed at informing the public on all issues that are relevant to the freedom of media in Serbia. Cenzolovka aims at contributing to the monitoring and public understanding of cases concerning violations of media freedom in Serbia and at involving media professionals, independent experts, government representatives and ordinary citizens at large.

Association of Journalists of Macedonia - Stakeholders

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) is an independent, non-governmental and non- political party organization whose purpose is to be the protector and promoter of professional standards and freedom of expression.

It also offers practical support.

Specific objectives of the AJM include:
-Defend freedom of press, radio, television and other media;
-Fights against their abuse, the creation of monopolies and any form of censorship that affects the determination of truth, complete, unbiased, updated public information;
-Protects and promotes the freedom of rights and responsibilities of journalists, based on the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Macedonia, Statute and Acts of AJM, and international documents concerning the freedom of the media, and the exercise of expression and information as basic Human Rights.
-Protect the reputation and dignity of the journalists and the journalistic profession and protects and promotes freedom of critical and creative work.
-Represent its members in front of the community and actively participates in the preparation of legislation and inter-national conventions of interest to the profession and defend the journalistic interest in regards of the Code of Ethics.

The Association was founded in 1946 and is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). AJM publishes in Macedonian, Albanian and English.

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. 

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) - Stakeholders

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal. CPJ ensures the free flow of news and commentary by taking action wherever journalists are attacked, imprisoned, killed, kidnapped, threatened, censored, or harassed.

CPJ’s work is based on its research, which provides a global snapshot of obstructions to a free press worldwide. CPJ’s research staff documents hundreds of attacks on the press each year. CPJ denounces press freedom violations, meets with heads of state and high-ranking officials, spearheads or advises on diplomatic efforts, and works with other organizations to ensure that justice prevails when journalists are imprisoned or killed. CPJ also provides practical support to journalists and media support staff working around the world through up-to-date safety and security information and rapid response assistance.

International Press Institute (IPI) - Stakeholders

The International Press Institute (IPI) is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists. The institute is dedicated to the furtherance and safeguarding of press freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the practices of journalism. 

IPI works by:

• conducting direct advocacy with governments
• raising awareness on violations of media freedom through news coverage, research and analysis
• leading programmes and campaigns to further change
• offering platforms for cooperation, networking and skills exchange among our members
• promoting high-quality, independent journalism through the development of best practices at the global level
• providing opportunities for dialogue among diverse journalistic communities, in line with IPI’s founding principles

IPI runs a project called OnTheLine, that aims at promoting online journalists’ safety and countering threats against press freedom and freedom of expression in the digital sphere.