Our grantees
In our efforts to protect and stimulate public debate, we are proud to partner with the following organizations among others:
Public Interest Journalism
Arena
Facilitating cross-border
journalism in Europe
#capacity-building #networking #field_strengthening
Arena supports collaborative and investigative journalism across geographical and professional borders in Europe. Arena focuses on three core activities: first, Dataharvest – the European Investigative Journalism Conference, which brings together 500 investigative and data journalists in Belgium annually; second, the creation and hosting of open-access thematic networks that facilitate the collaboration of journalists from across Europe on topics of common interest and other shared needs; and third, the provision of training, teaching and advisory services in the field of collaborative, investigative, data and entrepreneurial journalism. Considering societal issues have an International and transnational dimension more than ever, Arena’s focus on developing the infrastructure for European journalists to work together is an essential contribution to the exchange of information, critical thinking and mutual understanding needed to protect democracy in Europe.
Civitates
Strengthening independent public
interest journalism in Europe
#pooled_fund #capacity-building #networking #field_strengthening
Civitates is a collaborative philanthropic initiative for democracy and solidarity in Europe, focused on building a strong and resilient civil society, shaping a healthy digital public sphere, and strengthening independent public interest journalism. Through its pooled fund for “Independent Public Interest Journalism”, Civitates supports independent public interest journalism organizations that defend democracy in Europe by revitalizing public discourse, ensuring that all voices are heard, and exposing abuses of power and polarizing factors. It provides structural, core financial support as well as capacity building and networking opportunities for organizations operating in challenging contexts, while working to raise awareness in the donor community and bring much needed new funding to the field.
Docs up Funds
Supporting the creation of documentaries dedicated to human rights around the world
#investigation_fund
To raise public awareness about human rights, Docs up Funds defends and supports the creation of engaged documentaries about economic, geopolitical, cultural, ethical and/or societal issues around the world. With a focus on projects from the Global South, it provides financial and technical support to documentary authors and producers at key moments of the development and production of their films: pitching and preparation, shooting and editing, communication and distribution. Docs Up Fund aspires to become a quality label, recognized by professionals and peers.
#capacity-building #networking #field_strengthening
The Global Investigative Journalism Network serves as the international hub for the world’s investigative reporters, with special attention to those from repressive regimes and marginalized communities. At the heart of GIJN is an international association of nonprofit journalism organizations. From its founding in 2003, GIJN has grown to include 244 member groups in 90 countries. Today, with a staff based in 24 countries, GIJN works in a dozen languages to link together the world’s most enterprising journalists, giving them the tools, technology, and training to go after abuses of power and lack of accountability.
IJ4EU
Supporting cross-border public interest journalism in Europe
#investigation_fund
IJ4EU is the premier funding and support scheme for cross-border investigative reporting in Europe, acknowledging the increasingly transnational nature of public-interest stories. Led by the International Press Institute (IPI), it provides direct funding for cross-border investigations and collaborative projects by watchdog journalists through two grant schemes, one aimed at teams with a newsroom element, the other serving exclusively the needs of freelancers. IJ4EU also offers training and networking opportunities, as well as editorial, legal and practical support, enabling newsrooms and freelancers across the EU to collaborate on ambitious investigations, tackling some of today’s most pressing issues (the environment, disinformation, organized crime, corruption, human rights abuses, and the surveillance industry, etc.). Through the launch of its Impact Award, which is open to cross-border projects, whether funded by IJ4EU or not, it further raises the profile of quality investigations and the value of watchdog journalism.
Journalismfund Europe
Advancing independent cross-border investigative journalism across Europe
#investigation_fund
Established in 1998, Journalismfund Europe is one of the pioneer organizations in the world that have been created with the specific purpose to make grants available to journalists in order to serve the public interest and promote democracy. Through its fund structure, it supports and facilitates investigative, cross-border, and independent journalism across Europe by connecting donors and journalists without jeopardizing the latter’s credibility and independence. Available in 9 European languages, its flexible grants programs enable journalists to produce relevant public interest stories with a European mind-set from international, national, and regional perspectives. The Isocrates Foundation supports the European cross-border grant program. Through all its work, Journalismfund Europe ultimately fosters accountability and transparency, and contributes to critical thinking and well-informed debate — prerequisites for citizens to shape a democratic society.
JournaFONDS
Defending the quality of journalism
and the diversity of media in Switzerland
#investigation_fund
To overcome the chronic lack of resources for investigative journalism and reporting which threatens the proper functioning of Swiss democracy, JournaFONDS supports investigative and reporting projects on topics of public interest in all linguistic and cultural regions of the country. In addition to providing financial support, it aims to strengthen the investigative and reporting skills of professional journalists, whether freelancers or editorial staff, and foster collaboration and healthy competition among journalists and newsrooms by enabling media professionals from smaller newsrooms to conduct sophisticated investigations and reporting. Supporting young journalists is also important to JournaFONDS, which always ensures that young talents are given a chance when allocating funds.
Justice Info
Providing independent and reliable information on international justice
#watchdog_publication
Created by Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss non-profit organization founded in 1995 after the Rwandan genocide to provide reliable, useful information to populations facing serious crises, Justice Info is an independent media website in French and English that covers justice initiatives in war and violence affected countries. Focusing on transitional Justice, a term still not widely understood by the public, Justice Info covers trials for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide; truth commissions; reparations programs; remembrance; reconciliation initiatives; and universal jurisdiction; etc. Justice Info is an open, accessible and innovative media: 100% digital, it operates with free access and no shareholders or advertising, having become the leading reference platform for communities seeking actionable information, bold reflections and constructive public debate on international justice.
Media Defence
Providing legal help to journalists,
citizen journalists and independent media
across the world
#journalists_protection #legal_support
Media Defence provides legal protection to journalists, bloggers, and independent media around the world, under threats for reporting on issues of public interest. Through its emergency defence fund, it helps cover legal fees and provides legal expertise to the lawyer(s) defending a case. Media Defence also engages in strategic litigation before domestic and international courts to challenge repressive laws and expand the space for media freedom and freedom of expression. In countries where the threat of legal action is high and constant, it further builds local legal capacity to defend journalists through legal training and by funding local legal centers to defend journalists. To date, Media Defence has supported 1,000+ cases, helping hundreds of journalists in over 110 countries. Its work has contributed to preventing over 300 years of detention for media workers and avoiding $600m in damages. It has also supported over 30 partners and trained over 200 lawyers, empowering them to defend the media in their region. Media Defence is the only organization in the world solely focused on providing this critical help to journalists, so that they can continue to report on issues of public interest.
Healthy Digital Public Space
Civitates
Strengthening the digital ecosystem in Europe
#pooled_fund #advocacy_and_policy #capacity-building #networking#field_building
Civitates is a collaborative philanthropic initiative for democracy and solidarity in Europe, focused on building a strong and resilient civil society, shaping a healthy digital public sphere, and strengthening independent public interest journalism. Through its “Healthy Digital Public Sphere” pooled fund, Civitates supports the advocacy and policy work of civil society organizations pushing to improve the regulatory environment of the digital sphere in order to safeguard public and democratic values and apply adequate checks and balances. In addition to flexible grants, Civitates provides its partners with capacity-building and networking opportunities to learn, reflect and connect, thereby strengthening civil society’s capacity and constituency to engage in the debate and address current, emerging, and future challenges in the digital ecosystem.
Digital Freedom Fund
Advancing digital rights through strategic litigation in Europe
#strategic_litigation
The Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) supports the digital rights community in Europe to advance and protect human rights in digital spaces and reduce the negative impact of technology in the world. To create systemic change, DFF catalyzes litigation efforts, provides litigation grants, and connects partners with expert pro bono support. To date, DFF has funded the legal, advocacy, research, and other costs associated with more than 70 pre-litigation research and litigation projects, covering issues ranging from protecting gig economy workers to promoting free speech online to challenging mass surveillance and algorithmic profiling. By facilitating skills and knowledge development as well as networking events, DFF further empowers digital rights litigators and activists to win more strategic cases and ultimately contribute to a society that ensures accountability, transparency, and respect for human rights standards in the use and design of technology and digital spaces.
Global Witness
Tackling digital threats to democracy
#advocacy_and_policy #strategic_litigation #investigation #capacity_building #networking #field_building
Building on its expertise and successes in the areas of natural resources and corporate accountability, Global Witness has recently launched a new campaign targeting Big Tech companies and social media platforms, whose business model — without sufficient standards of transparency and oversight — encourages the proliferation of division, hate, and disinformation online, which in turn fuels populism and violence and precludes public debate. Through a combination of investigations, strategic litigations, and awareness and advocacy efforts, the “Digital Threats to Democracy” campaign aims to ensure that the new European legislation on Big Tech — the Digital Service Act and the Digital Market Act, which deal with content moderation and the regulation of anti-competitive practices — is properly implemented, while looking for opportunities to promote and improve this model globally.
The European AI and Society Fund
Shaping the direction of Artificial Intelligence in Europe
#pooled_fund #advocacy_and_policy #capacity-building #networking #field_building
The European AI & Society Fund is a collaborative philanthropic initiative of national and international foundations, whose mission is to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making (ADM) systems serve the interests of individuals and society in Europe, and that the policies and funding that regulate them uphold equity, justice, and diversity, as well as democracy and human rights. To reach its goal, the Fund commits its resources to strengthening the civil society’s ability to take on the crucial role of being a visible and effective voice in public and policy debates on the future of AI and technology in Europe. It provides financial support, capacity building ad networking opportunities to European public interest and civil society organizations already working on policy and technology, as well as to new actors, who want to build their capacity in this domain, especially those representing marginalized communities, who are often disproportionately affected by AI and ADM risks and harms.
Exceptional Engagement
Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières
Launching the Benoit Maria Prize
for Peasant Agroecology
#exceptional_engagement
By creating this prize to reward peasant agroecology initiatives around the world, AVSF is paying tribute to Benoît Maria, an AVSF employee and fervent defender of the rights of indigenous populations, assassinated in Guatemala in August 2020. As an agricultural engineer, Benoît has contributed to the promotion of a diversified and agroecological peasant agriculture, based on traditional Indian knowledge. Benoît worked so that peasants could sell their production on local markets and has co-created the Ixil University, to revalue and transmit ancestral knowledge to young people. Finally, for more than twenty years, he supported the Qeqch’i and Ixil indigenous communities and traditional authorities in their peaceful struggle to have their rights recognized and to preserve their lands in the face of threats of land grabbing. In full agreement with Benoît’s family, friends and teammates in Guatemala and France, AVSF has launched the Benoit Maria Prize to make known the struggles and actions that he embodied so well.
Fondation Anaïse
Supporting a home and medico-pedagogical center for abused domestic children in Haiti
#exceptional_engagement
Nadine Burdet, originally from Haiti, studied medicine in Switzerland and practiced child psychiatry there until 1991. In 1985, she participated in the general enthusiasm raised by the fall of the Duvalier regime, while becoming aware of the urgent medical needs in her native country. Nadine then took a sabbatical year to supervise various social and medical projects under the aegis of the association “Aide Haïti”, which she had founded in 1987. Confronted with the abuses of children employed as domestic servants, called “restaveks” in Haiti, she opened in 1997 the “Foyer l’Escale” in Port-au-Prince, a home and a medical-pedacogical center, built on land she donated. She dedicated herself to the care of these abused and polytraumatized children until her death in 2018, with the ultimate objective of reintegrating them into their families, when possible. Thanks to the tireless support of her husband Albert, the Foyer l’Escale continues to accommodate up to 50 children and to offer a school for 6 to 16 year olds.
Vivere
Fighting against impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo
#exceptional_engagement
Vivere is an association created by seasoned humanitarian and development professionals. In addition to the wealth of experience and skills they bring to the most desperate contexts on the planet to which Vivere is dedicated, its strengths come from its purely voluntary basis and its long-term approach in support of its local partners. Thanks to a rigorous management policy and the exceptional commitment of its members, Vivere’s operating costs are less than 2%. Active in the Kivus in DRC since 2006, Vivere supports the fight against impunity by facilitating mobile courts, allowing the military prosecutor’s office to sit “in the bush”, to investigate and judge soldiers or militia suspected of blood crimes, sexual violence, torture, and other serious offences against citizens, thus proving to the population of these forgotten territories that justice is, at last, on the way.