IMPACT: Journalists’ organisations roll out capacity-building initiatives
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has launched its funding scheme through its IMPACT project, co-funded by the European Commission, to help member unions improve journalists’ working conditions and defend their fundamental rights.
Following a three-month process of application and evaluation carried out by the independent Evaluation Committee set up by the EFJ, 8 members from Croatia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Belgium, Spain, France and Bulgaria, were rewarded with a total of 69,012 EUR to carry out their national projects.
The projects launched by the journalists’ unions and associations will address a wide range of issues, including defending media freedom as fundamental rights, the safety of journalists online, dialogue with law enforcement authorities, capacity-building in the context of new European regulations, and targeted actions towards female and young journalists.
“This is an important project funded by the EU that recognised the fundamental rights of journalists and organisations, especially at national and grassroot levels, defending and promoting these rights. It’s the first of its kind providing direct financial support to these organisations that provide daily support to their journalists. We are pleased to be part of it, but we also need more such funding schemes in Europe that provide direct financial support and capacity building to national organisations defending fundamental rights and EU values in the future”, said EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez.
