In June 2020 European Centre for Press and Media Freedom marks its 5th Anniversary.

Since 2015, the organisation has rapidly grown to become a key player in the press and media freedom sphere. Our new strategy sets out the organisation’s approach towards tackling existing, as well as emerging, challenges over the next five years.

“ECPMF has become a Europe-wide recognized actor for press and media freedom within five years. This strategy guides us into the future and commits us to take the fight further. Our conviction is: if you want to live as a free citizen you need media freedom.”

– Dr Lutz Kinkel, ECPMF’s Managing Director

ECPMF is recognised as a uniquely placed organisation specifically serving Europe.

We have provided journalists and other media professionals with direct practical and legal support to help them continue their work in the face of significant hardships. We have comprehensively monitored violations, put recommendations in the hands of decision makers and successfully campaigned for change. We have championed cross-border investigative journalism and promoted media literacy and open dialogue. Our impact has been tangible. Just recently, together with our partners, we started the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism, which tracks, monitors and reacts to violations of press and media freedom.

Nevertheless our region is experiencing an undeniable deterioration of press and media freedom. The number of threats and attacks against journalists and media workers is rising. The gap between the principles enshrined in the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights and the reality on the ground grows ever wider. Not only in authoritarian states and countries in transition, but also in places with strong democratic constitutions and long democratic traditions. We need to respond by working fiercer, faster and louder than ever.

Overview of the Strategy

Starting in September 2019, the creation of our 2020-2024 plan is the result of several stages of research, feedback from staff and board members as well as partners and beneficiaries across Europe.

Our strategy articulates ECPMF’s vision, mission and organisational values, as well as the three core strands of the organisation’s work to ‘Monitor’, ‘Support’ and ‘Engage’.