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The Global Media Defence Fund pursues Momentum, with a Significant Increase in Partnerships in Africa
Following an in-depth evaluation by UNESCO, 33 projects have been preselected for funding under the GMDF.
These preselected projects will help advance the mission of the Global Media Defence Fund by enhancing the legal defense of journalists. They encompass a diverse array of innovative activities, spanning from strategic litigation cases to challenging legal assistance platform for journalists seeking legal protection and the creation of specialized teams for the legal defense of women journalists.
Over two thirds of these projects (27) were submitted by national/grassroot organizations, in addition to those from regional (2) and global (4) civil society entities.
In terms of geographic scope, 11 of the preselected projects will operate in Africa, marking a 57% increase from last year. The numbers of projects focused on Asia and the Pacific (6), and in Europe and North America (5) have also increased compared to proposals selected from the 3rd Call for Partnerships.
“This Call has been particularly successful at reaching organizations that are doing valuable work at national level to protect journalists and defend media freedom. In the context of increasing challenges to press freedom and the work of media professionals, the Global Media Defence Fund provides key support to organizations dealing with these very relevant issues on the ground.
Support for the projects selected from this Call for Partnerships will start in 2024 and continue in 2025, for a total allocation of USD 1, 4 million.
Established within the framework of the Global Campaign for Media Freedom and under the overall umbrella of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, the Global Media Defence Fund is a UNESCO Multi-Partner Trust Fund, initiated by the contributions from the United Kingdom and Canada. Administered by UNESCO, the Fund serves as a responsive and effective mechanism to support not-for-profit organizations working locally, regionally and internationally in undertaking or upscaling projects aimed at strengthening journalists’ legal protection and enhancing media freedom through investigative journalism or strategic litigation.
Since its creation, over 120 projects have been supported around the globe with a total funding of approximately USD $4.1 million. Over these 4 years, more than 5,000 journalists, 1,500 lawyers and 200 non-governmental organisations have directly benefited from the initiatives supported by the Fund.
To learn more about the projects being supported by the Global Media Defence Fund, you can read our new stories.
The Global Media Defence Fund is implemented with the generous financial support of:
Australia; Austria; Canada; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Estonia; France; Germany; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; New Zealand; Serbia; Slovakia; Switzerland; the United Kingdom; Siemens AG.
