ABOUT

Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative

CIJI is carried out in partnership by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Free Press Unlimited (FPU) and Tactical Tech (TT) and aims to become a network-based initiative that promotes ethical standards, offers training and capacity building opportunities and a fora for collaboration and peer-support.

Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is a Paris-based non-profit organisation that promotes journalistic freedom, pluralism and independence. This includes defending those who embody these ideals. RSF provides information about the media freedom situation throughout the world and provides journalists with concrete support by means of campaigns, advocacy, litigation, legal aid and material assistance. RSF has also launched initiatives designed to promote the right to reliable news and information, especially in the digital domain.

Free Press Unlimited

Free Press Unlimited (FPU) is a non-profit organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, that works to make independent news and information available to everyone, particularly in countries with limited (press) freedom. Free Press Unlimited helps journalists and media professionals with emergency support, advice, training and capacity building in more than 40 countries, together with over 90 local media partners worldwide.

Tactical Tech

Tactical Tech (TT) is an international non-profit organisation that engages with citizens and civil-society organisations to explore and mitigate the impacts of technology on society. Through their work they aim to educate, advocate and create practical solutions that contribute to the wider socio-political debate around digital security, privacy and the ethics of data. TT runs the Exposing the Invisible project that develops resources, training and collaborations promoting investigation as one of the most important forms of public engagement.

Media Hubs

The programme’s guiding principle is regional engagement and empowering existing regional initiatives as opposed to creating new ones.

In an open call for applications, a jury, consisting of renowned media professionals, selected three regional media organisations to act as CIJI regional media hubs in three respective geographical locations: Baltic States, Southern Europe and Visegrád Four.

Media hubs will act as an informal “network of networks” and will support quality collaborative and investigative journalism by promoting and implementing a common set of ethical codes, professional principles and guidelines in line with the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI). The hubs’ networks will have access to an accelerator for start-ups, including the availability of seed financing and micro grants to explore innovative ideas in the field.

Awarded institutions will benefit from financial support, training, resource sharing and exchange of best practices, collaborations, access to innovative methods and techniques - all following established journalism standards.