ECPMF launches new project Creating Space: Strengthening Supporters of Human Rights Defenders

ECPMF

04 March 2026

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ECPMF launches new project Creating Space: Strengthening Supporters of Human Rights Defenders

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) launches Creating Space, a new project funded by the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie that strengthens those who work with and support journalists and human rights defenders who are in exile and/or under threat.

 

Providing essential services such as legal aid, psychosocial care, relocation assistance, and advocacy, means working closely with individuals who have endured violence, displacement, discrimination, and isolation. Supporters frequently experience overload, stress, and a sense of powerlessness, which remains largely invisible.

 

Creating Space consolidates the ECPMF-coordinated working group Support for Supporters in Germany, which addresses exactly that. It offers targeted interventions, including professional supervision, peer-exchange workshops, and an annual networking meeting, to create a dedicated space for reflection and mutual support. The goal is to sustain psychosocial wellbeing and a sense of agency. It brings together civil‑society actors, journalists, human‑rights advocates and psychosocial professionals, broadening perspectives, building trust, and encouraging approaches that are sensitive to discrimination.

Running from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, the €30,000 grant from the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie will enable ECPMF to expand and professionalise its working group.

 

More information about the working group is available at: https://www.ecpmf.eu/support/support-for-supporters-in-germany/

ECPMF startet neues Projekt „Creating Space: Unterstützer*innen von Menschenrechtsverteidiger*innen stärken“

Das Europäische Zentrum für Presse- und Medienfreiheit (ECPMF) startet „Creating Space“, ein neues Projekt, das von der Deutschen Postcode Lotterie finanziert wird und diejenigen stärkt, die mit Journalist*innen und Menschenrechtsverteidiger*innen, die im Exil leben und/oder bedroht sind, zusammenarbeiten und diese unterstützen.

 

Die Bereitstellung wichtiger Dienstleistungen wie Rechtsbeistand, psychosoziale Betreuung, Relocation und Advocacy bedeutet eine enge Zusammenarbeit mit Menschen, die Gewalt, Vertreibung, Diskriminierung und Isolation erlebt haben. Unterstützer*innen sind häufig Überlastung, Stress und einem Gefühl der Ohnmacht ausgesetzt, was meist unsichtbar bleibt.

 

Creating Space festigt die vom ECPMF koordinierte Arbeitsgruppe „Support for Supporters in Germany“, die sich genau mit diesem Thema befasst. Sie bietet gezielte Interventionen, darunter professionelle Supervision, Peer-Austausch, Workshops und ein jährliches Netzwerktreffen, um einen eigenen Raum für Reflexion und gegenseitige Unterstützung zu schaffen. Ziel ist es, das psychosoziale Wohlbefinden und Handlungsfähigkeit aufrechtzuerhalten. Es bringt Akteur*innen der Zivilgesellschaft, Journalist*innen, Menschenrechtsaktivist*innen und psychosoziale Fachkräfte zusammen, erweitert Perspektiven, schafft Vertrauen und fördert diskriminierungssensible Ansätze.

Die Förderung der Deutschen Postcode Lotterie in Höhe von 30.000 Euro läuft vom 1. März 2026 bis zum 28. Februar 2027 und ermöglicht es dem ECPMF, seine Arbeitsgruppe zu erweitern und zu professionalisieren.

 

Weitere Informationen über die Arbeitsgruppe: https://www.ecpmf.eu/support/support-for-supporters-in-germany/

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