ECPMF secures €350,000 BKM funding to support exiled journalists

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) is delighted to announce the receipt of €350,000 in funding from the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM) for the years 2025 and 2026. The funding is aimed at strengthening journalists’ rights, promoting a diverse media landscape, highlighting the importance of quality journalism, and supporting media workers in exile.

With these funds, ECPMF will sustain the newly created Journalists-in-Exile Programme, which operates in three strands to bolster ECPMF’s existing work to support journalists who have been forced to leave their home country and continue working in exile in Germany. The three strands are:

Flexible support for journalists in exile looking to continue their work, participate in the German media landscape, and develop future prospects;
The ECPMF Journalists-in-Residence programme, which provides temporary relocation and shelter for journalists who are facing threats as a direct result of their work;
The Support for Supporters Working Group, an ECPMF-led group developed by and for supporters of exiled and/or threatened media professionals, creating a space to exchange ideas about the special challenges they face in the context of their work.

“The continuation of this funding is vital in ensuring that exiled journalists can continue their crucial work despite the immense challenges they face. They were forced to leave their home countries, but their voices and reporting remain essential. By strengthening the structures that enable them to continue their journalistic work in exile, we are not only protecting individuals but also safeguarding press freedom and the right to information across borders.” – Edith Bohl, Journalists-in-Exile Programme Officer, ECPMF.

ECPMF is extremely grateful for the support from BKM. The funding will make a significant impact on the organisation’s work to strengthen support mechanisms for exiled journalists in Europe. Implementation of the BKM-funded programme is set to begin in early 2025.

Serbia: One year of unpunished attacks on journalist Dinko Gruhonjić, the culture of impunity must end

The members of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium and partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform are deeply concerned about the ongoing year-long persecution campaign against journalist Dinko Gruhonjić, programme Director of the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV) and Associate Professor at the Department of Media Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad.

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SafeJournalists Network and Media Freedom Rapid Response: TikTok ban in Albania threatens freedom of expression ahead of general elections

SafeJournalists Network (SJN), the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, and civil society organisations express serious concern regarding the Albanian Council of Ministers' decision on March 6, 2025, to suspend nationwide access to the TikTok platform for 12 months. While we acknowledge the government’s stated intention to protect children from harmful content and safeguard personal data, we strongly underline that such protective measures must fully respect fundamental human rights, particularly freedom of expression, access to information, and due process.

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Georgia: Independent Journalism and Media Pluralism on the Brink

MFRR Partners warn that a new wave of repressive legislation threatens Georgian independent journalism with imminent extinction.

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MFRR and SJN condemn adoption of foreign agent legislation in Bosnia’s entity Republika Srpska

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners and SafeJournalists Network (SJN) strongly condemn the adoption of legislation in the Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina which will establish a "special registry” of NGOs, many of which are independent media.

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