G7 highlights Global Media Defence Fund’s role in providing practical, technical and programmatic support to media

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On May 13, 2021

On 5 May 2021, the Group of Seven (G7) Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting underscored the importance of international initiatives and mechanisms to support free, independent and plural media environments around the globe.

At the end of the three-day meeting, the Ministers issued a joint foreign and development communiqué, affirming their commitment to “championing media freedom as a vital part of upholding democracy and human rights around the world”, and recognizing “the importance of improving media sustainability, increasing access to independent and diverse media and supporting journalists, in the context of SDG 16.10.” Ministers called on their own diplomatic missions to coordinate at the local level to “increase support to and engagement with journalists and independent media under threat”.

Chaired by the United Kingdom, the group also highlighted the support – via voluntary contributions – to the Global Media Defence Fund as part of their commitment to “providing practical, technical and programmatic support to journalists and media”.

Administered by UNESCO, the Global Media Defence Fund is a responsive and effective mechanism that supports not-for-profit organizations working on the ground at the local, regional and international level in the undertaking or upscaling of projects that bolster journalists’ legal protection and/or enhance media freedom through investigative journalism or strategic litigation. The Fund was established within the framework of the Global Campaign for Media Freedom and under the overall umbrella of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.

The Global Media Defence Fund’s Second Call for Partnerships is open until 15 June 2021.