JFJ INVESTIGATIVE GRANT PROGRAMME
On October, 23 the documentary Of Caravan and the Dogs, supported by the JFJ Investigative Grant Programme, premiered in Sibiu, Romania at the Astra Film Festival. The documentary gives a unique behind-the-scenes insight into the resistance of journalists and activists in Putin’s Russia.
EVENTS AND ADVOCACY
- On October 22-23, JFJ participated in a two-day mission to Dublin organised by the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform. During the mission, the Partner Organisations met with Irish journalists, representatives of the National Union of Journalists and government officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The delegation was concerned by the ongoing delays in reforming Ireland’s defamation laws and highlighted the urgency of reform incorporating solid anti-SLAPP provisions. The Platform partners’ statement was released at the end of the mission.
- On October 22-23, JFJ participated in the annual ACOS Alliance Safety Coordination meeting in London. The two-day meeting brought together over 120 participants from news organisations and NGOs for practical learning, meaningful conversations and presentations on key journalists’ safety issues.
- On October 22, JFJ participated in the Trust Conference the Thomson Reuters Foundation organised in London. Hundreds of international participants attended panels focused on defending media freedom in an era of rapid technological advancement and democratic decline.
- On October 25, the Partner Organisations of the Council of Europe’s Safety of Journalists Platform and Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) members published a report and recommendations to guarantee the safety of journalists and the right to reliable information in Georgia.
- On October 25, at the Frontline Club in London, JFJ organised the screening of the documentary ‘On the Frontier: The Heroic Story of the Journalist from the Frontline Newspaper’ presented by Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. During the preceding panel discussion, Katerina Sergatskova, Executive Director of the 2402 Foundation, shared the results of the JFJ-supported HEFAT programme already undertaken by more than 1,000 journalists, producers, documentarians and news managers working in Ukraine. At the end of the event, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine granted JFJ a special award for exceptional dedication to protecting press freedom and ensuring the safety of journalists.
- On October 29-30, JFJ’s Director Maria Ordzhonikidze participated in the Annual Thematic Conference in Strasbourg, organised by the Council of Europe, as a part of the Journalists Matter Campaign for the Safety of Journalists.She presented the results of JFJ’s eight-year research into the threats to media freedom and methods of silencing independent voices in the Post-Soviet autocracies.
- On November 1, JFJ’s Director Maria Ordzhonikidze participated in the panel discussion focused on the safety of media workers during the war and conflicts during the 10th International Conference On the Safety of Journalists hosted by Oslo MEKK research group in Oslo Met University.
ORKHAN DZHEMAL MEDIA SAFETY ACADEMY
In October, the 2402 Foundation conducted Hostile Environment First Aid Training (HEFAT) in Kyiv, tailored for Ukrainian and international journalists and media personnel operating in the country.
2402 Foundation has received the results of an independent study on the effectiveness of the JFJ-supported HEFAT training programme. The study, conducted between August and September 2024, demonstrated high levels of participants’ satisfaction and marked material improvement in the culture of media safety.
In October, the Media Safety Academy organised a three-day offline OSINT training for a group of 14 Russian and Belarusian journalists in a secure location. The course included theoretical and practical exercises in fact-checking, tools for photo and video verification, working with search engines, public data collection, AI-managed datasets, unofficial data, social media, etc.
If you are a media worker and require safety training of any kind, please do not hesitate to write a request to academy@jfj.fund.