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.

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.

Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in Western Balkans - Stakeholders

The Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in Western Balkans is a network of journalists' associations and media trade unions established in January 2016. The Platform has been produced with the assistance of the European Union and functions as an early warning and prevention mechanism, monitoring attacks against journalists. It provides an accessible way to report violations and to search through six regional centers' databases of attacks.

Participating organizations are: BH Novinari for Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatian Association of Journalists (HND) for Croatia, Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, NUNS for Serbia and ZNM for Macedonia. 

European Commission - Stakeholders

The European Commission plays an active role in supporting freedom and pluralism of media inside EU Member states, in the Enlargement countries and in its external relations.

The DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology (DG Connect) manages the EU Digital Agenda promoting transparency, freedom and diversity in Europe's media landscape. On the DG Connect web page dedicated to media freedom and pluralism you can find several acts, documents and studies on the subject.

The DG Enlargement (DG NEAR) incorporates media freedom and pluralism as principles in the Enlargement negotiation. The European Commission's annual strategy on EU enlargement highlights freedom of expression and media as one of the most important challenges for the countries aspiring to EU membership. Important events sanctioning this commitment are the SpeakUp! Conferences on freedom of expression in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) - Stakeholders

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) consists of individual member-organisations, registered in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. As a group of editors and trainers, BIRN enables journalists in the region to produce in-depth analytical and investigative journalism on complex political, economic and social themes. Through the production of Balkan Insight, BIRN`s online publication, the network trains local and regional journalists, demanding the highest international standards. BIRN emerged from the Balkan programme of the London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting, IWPR, in 2005.

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung - Stakeholders

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is a political foundation based in Germany, acting as a think-tank and consulting agency. Its overall aim is to support the consolidationof democracy, the unification of Europe and the strengthening of transatlantic relations, as well as of development cooperation.

KAS Media Program South East Europe was established to strengthen the role of the media in the course of democratization and transformation - through advanced training, consultancy, dialogue and network building.

KAS BalkanMedia online platform presenting content of regional networks that are encouraging media freedom and diversity in South East Europe, as well as modern and transparent political communication.

South East European Media Observatory - Stakeholders

South East European (SEE) Media Observatory is a regional partnership of civil society organisations aimed at enhancing media freedom and pluralism and influencing media reforms in the countries of South East Europe.

It addresses the obstacle to democratic development and the problems of media and journalism integrity in the Balkan region, focusing on harmful patterns of media ownership and media finances. It provides a regional instrument for media research and monitoring, support to investigative journalism and civil society engagement. It also offers a regional framework for debates, consultations and coalitions among key stakeholders. SEE Media Observatory is part of South East European Network for Professionalization of the Media.