Opportunities in exile project

ECPMF is committed to solidarity with persecuted, threatened, and exiled journalists and media workers and supports them according to their individual needs. With this project, we want to expand our offers for journalists in exile with the primary goal of enabling long-term professional future opportunities and social participation. 

Project Activities

Media professionals worldwide are under pressure due to the deteriorating situation of press and media freedom. ECPMF provides practical and legal assistance as well as temporary shelter to journalists and media workers who are located in Europe, supporting their ability to continue working in the face of threats, harassment, and/or intimidation related to their journalistic activities. 

 

Because of the increasing threats against individual journalists, many of them are being forced to flee their countries of origin. Our project “Opportunities in Exile” provides individually adaptable support measures for journalists who are threatened or persecuted because of their work and has a specific focus on media professionals who are in exile in Germany.

 

The project consists of the following main activities: 

1. Individual support for journalists and media workers in exile in Germany

This individual support includes offers for exiled media workers in Germany which can be adapted depending on the situation and needs. The journalists get access to professional training, internships, language courses, legal advice, psychosocial support, equipment and networks. ECPMF provides the necessary funding and contacts to enable the journalists to shape their lives and professional pathways in Germany as independently as possible.

 

Read more here.

2. Temporary relocation: ECPMF’s Journalists-in-Residence Programme

Activity 2 includes part of our Journalists-in-Residence (JiR) programme, which offers temporary relocation for media workers who are particularly at risk.  The programme enables journalists who are under threat and located in Europe a temporary shelter in Germany. In a protected environment, they can distance themselves from crisis situations, take a break from work or continue researching their projects.

 

Read more here.

3. Support for supporters

Activity 3 complements the project by providing the responsible project staff and their network partners with opportunities for networking and further training in the field of psychosocial care. 

 

Read more here.

Please find more information about the support offers, eligibility criteria, application procedures and contact details in the respective sections of our website using the links above.

 

Project duration:  01 January 2023 – 31 December 2026

This project is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and co-financed by the Free State of Saxony.

Opportunities in Exile

Contact

Katrin Schatz, Journalists-in-Exile Programme Manager (katrin.schatz@ecpmf.eu)

Related news

Statement

Czechia: Media freedom groups urge Czechia’s government to uphold public media’s independence

As Czechia’s new government prepares to reshape the funding and governance of its public broadcasters, press freedom groups caution that replacing the licence fee with state budget funding would expose ČT and ČRo to political pressure and weaken the editorial independence guaranteed under EU law.

READ MORE
Statement

Position Paper: Transnational Repression against Journalists in Exile

Transnational repression (TNR), the cross-border targeting, intimidation, and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders, is increasingly undermining press freedom and human rights in Europe and beyond. Journalists in exile often remain subjects of sustained threats, surveillance, cyber-attacks, psychological pressure, and harassment long after reaching presumed safety. These tactics are used by authoritarian states to silence dissent, extend their reach beyond borders, and weaken the role of independent media globally.

READ MORE
Statement

EU’s dangerous ‘Return Hubs’ policy: A threat to journalists in exile

The EU’s new “Return Hubs” migration policy endangers journalists and human rights defenders in exile by designating unsafe countries as “safe,” undermining press freedom and EU human rights commitments.

READ MORE
Statement

Open letter to Croatian Prime Minister Plenković: MFRR raises alarm over unlawful political pressure against weekly Novosti

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium, expresses grave concern regarding recent statements by the Homeland Movement that targeted the weekly newspaper Novosti, the only print media for the Serb minority in Croatia.

READ MORE
Statement

Lithuania: Media freedom groups raise alarm as political pressure campaign on LRT widens

READ MORE
Statement

Ukraine: Peace plan must ensure accountability for crimes against journalists

As negotiations continue over a peace plan to end the Russian war on Ukraine, Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and partner organisations strongly oppose any proposals on granting amnesty for potential war crimes committed in the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion, especially for those against journalists.

READ MORE