UNESCO is seeking applications for its Global Media Defence Fund to support the realisation or expansion of projects that strengthen the legal protection of journalists and/or increase media freedom.

The Global Media Defence Fund (GMDF) is a Multi-Partner Trust Fund 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 ("UN Plan of Action").

It was established in 2019 with important initial contributions from the UK and Canada and as a result of the identification of a need on the ground for a mechanism to strengthen the legal defence of journalists in need of legal protection, ensure judicial follow-up and hold perpetrators accountable for crimes against journalists (and the widespread impunity for these crimes), and foster an environment in which legal frameworks are conducive to a plural, free and independent media ecosystem.

Outputs

GMDF operates through four key approaches or Outputs:

• Output 1: Promote international legal cooperation, as well as the sharing and implementation of good practices to promote the defence of journalists under attack;

• Output 2: Strengthen the operationalisation of national protection mechanisms and peer support networks to ensure journalists' rapid access to legal assistance, strengthen their defence and increase their security, taking into account the gendered nature of the threats against them;

• Output 3: Supporting investigative journalism that contributes to reducing impunity for crimes against journalists, holding the justice system accountable and continuing investigative work that risks being censored when journalists are attacked; imprisoned or murdered, and strengthening the security of those who conduct this line of work;

• Output 4: Improving structures for promoting strategic litigation in order to protect environments where legal frameworks are conducive to an independent, free and pluralistic media ecosystem

About the Funds

The 2022 Global Media Defence Fund Call for Partnerships will provide almost 1.4 million dollars in financial grants, ranging from a minimum of 15,000 dollars to a maximum of 35,000 dollars.

How?

As part of the implementation of the GMDF, UNESCO seeks partnerships with specialised non-profit entities working at grassroots, national, regional and/or global levels to defend journalists and media freedom, including NGOs, media associations, journalists' unions, human rights defenders, bar associations and pro bono legal aid organisations, lawyer and investigative journalism networks, foundations, and academic institutions, among many others

Where?

In its first two years of implementation, the GMDF has supported almost 80 projects around the world.

The geographical coverage of the activities supported by the GMDF extends to all regions of the world, including UNESCO's Global Priority Africa - in addition to the Arab States region, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Eligibility criteria

As part of this Call for Partnerships, UNESCO is seeking joint action with implementing partners.

Implementing partners are non-profit entities to which UNESCO entrusts the partial or full implementation of specific programmes or projects in a signed document (an Implementing Partner Agreement or IPA), together with the assumption of full responsibility and accountability for the effective use of resources and the delivery of results, as set out in such a document.

The partner receives funding through UNESCO to deliver the programme or project, but must provide its own "added value" in terms of a monetary or in-kind contribution.

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