"The Global Media Defence Fund (“the Fund”) is a UNESCO Multi-Partner Trust Fund/Programme developed with the goal of enhancing media protection and improving the access of journalists to specialized and gender-sensitive legal assistance. Administered by UNESCO, the Fund was established thanks t
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o initial donations by the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada. This Fund is one of the outcomes of the Global Campaign for Media Freedom, and contributes to advancing the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. Established for an initial 5-year period, the Fund contributes to a free and safer environment for journalists to undertake their work through four key approaches or outputs: 1. Fostering international legal cooperation, as well as the sharing and implementation of good practices to promote the defense of journalists under attack; 2. Reinforcing the operationalization of national protection mechanisms and peer support networks, to ensure journalists’ rapid access to specialized legal assistance, bolster their defense and enhance their safety, taking into account the gendered nature of threats against them; 3. Supporting investigative journalism that contributes to reduced impunity for crimes against journalists, and enhancing the safety of those conducting this line of work; 4. Enhancing structures for fostering strategic litigation in order to protect environments where the legal frameworks are conducive to an independent, free and pluralistic media ecosystem." (Page 6)
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"Over the last year, the Theory of Change (ToC) has guided the MDP’s activities and actions. The Programme has followed a dual approach, reinforcing the capacities of duty-bearers and empowering rights-holders, with a focus on local media stakeholders. The aim of this approach is to create a safe
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and enabling environment for media to thrive at national, regional, and global levels, by improving legislative frameworks and policies relative to freedom of expression, access to information, the safety of journalists, community media, media in crisis preparedness and vulnerable situations, Media and Information Literacy (MIL) and access to information." (Summary)
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"Founded in 2004, the WCF was initiated by the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival. It quickly established itself as one of the leading institutions in the field of international film funding for artistic and innovative productions. The WCF concentrates on b
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acking the production and distribution of films from Latin America, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, Pacific as well as Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The goal is to promote high-quality filmmaking in regions with a weak infrastructure for film, while fostering cultural diversity in German cinemas as well as supporting collaboration between German and European producers and partners in WCF regions and countries. All WCF films finalized to date have screened at cinemas and / or in the programmes of renowned festivals. Many have also won prizes, proof of the worldwide success of the initiative. The World Cinema Fund provides support in the fields of production, post-production and distribution for feature lenght films and creative feature documentaries. Audience Design Strategies training and mentorships have become an important part of our programme. We have developed important partnerships in the field of Audience Design with the Torino Film Lab, Brasil Cinema Mundi, Locarno Open Doors, Nuevas Miradas, the Great Lakes Producers Lab and with the Ouaga Film Lab." (WCF Info, Page 4)
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"In the discussion of possible solutions to the business crisis facing legacy media, insufficient attention has been paid to existing arrangements that channel public money to media serving marginalised audiences, particularly in Global South countries. Argentina and South Africa are upper middle-in
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come, often turbulent countries that have set up official mechanisms to help fund local and community media. They are here compared with Norway, where such mechanisms are a key, long-standing element in a media system that is often held up as the gold standard of public communication. Three main mechanisms are compared: indirect subsidy, direct subsidy and government advertising. Differences in political and media history and landscape have led to variations in the relative importance of the various mechanisms, the media platforms targeted and the institutional arrangements. It is argued that arrangements for public support must be understood and designed in context, are always politically driven, must be safeguarded against political interference, and should be long-term and redistributive in approach." (Abstract)
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"I am proud of the steps that the International Fund took in 2023 to advance its mission. We published our first strategy, expanded the global coalition supporting our work, and increased our total investment in news publishers in our focus countries to over $8 million USD across 31 portfolio organi
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zations. We also created a new multilateral entity that will soon open its headquarters in Paris as an international organization. This was marked by a ceremony at the sixth edition of the Paris Peace Forum at which the Ghanaian, Moldovan, and French governments approved our Statutes and formally appointed our Board. The Republic of Ghana additionally announced that it would provide the International Fund with privileges and immunities and host our Africa regional headquarters in Accra. In 2024, the International Fund will continue to scale up its activities in preparation for the next phase of its development. We plan to deploy more than $20 million USD in direct grant funding, substantially growing our commitments to sustainability and innovation in global media markets. We will also begin analyzing the early learnings from our growing portfolio, assessing the impact of our financing, and iterating our grantmaking approach." (Letter from the CEO, page 3)
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"Is it necessary for journalists to seek refuge with foreign agencies to escape national governmental and policy restrictions? Should journalism education rely on international support, or is it feasible to detach it from foreign development collaboration? Should education be viewed as a business or
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commodity? Is any international development support sustainable within the local context? Is free thinking truly free from the structural constraints of slavery and financial influence? Is absolute freedom a utopian ideal or a tangible reality? These inquiries, coupled with corresponding philosophical methodologies, aim to evaluate the structure, constituents, excellence, and norms of current journalism education programs. The goal is to uncover if and to what extent international media development organizations sway journalism education programs during the transition phase (2011–2021) in Myanmar or beyond.
2011 marked a turning point, as the military-supported government of Myanmar granted media professionals the ability to exercise their fundamental rights to express themselves and access information. The government has taken a number of favorable measures towards the democratic path, such as partially lifting censorship from several news publications, authorizing private daily newspapers, approving new television channels, establishing a press council, and permitting journalist unions and associations. The formation of the quasi-elected government in 2015 brought renewed hope. However, the military coup at the beginning of 2021 has once again impeded progress towards a democratic environment, and fundamental rights such as access to information and freedom of speech. Capacity building facilities for journalists and media professionals remain an important aspect of the democratic process in the country." (Publisher description)
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"The South Asia Center for Media in Development (SACMID), addresses gender disparity both within the workplace and media content. Its main focus is utilizing the Gender Media Monitoring Tool to tackle these issues. The data collected through media monitoring is subsequently employed for advocacy ini
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tiatives involving multiple stakeholders. The paper aims to evaluate the project activities carried out by SACMID within PRIMED (Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development), focusing on their efforts to promote gender sensitivity in the media sector in Bangladesh. The primary objective is to assess the effectiveness of SACMID’s interventions by examining the degree to which the monitored outlets as well as stakeholders within the media sector have seen positive changes by themselves or in the sector a whole when it comes to the level of gender sensitive content reporting (and gender sensitivity in the newsrooms). We also wish to look into the level of success in SACMID’s attempt to establish itself as a known stakeholder on gender and media in Bangladesh." (Introduction, page 3)
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