Goals
A project
Supported by
In partnership with
Presentation
AGILE : Advancing Global Innovation and Learning Effectively to build resilience in independent media
In response to weakening democracy and the rise of authoritarianism, the knock-on effects of which include the erosion of human rights, the closing of forums for expression and growing threats to independent media outlets, the EU’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA) drew up a new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) in 2023, to promote human rights by supporting civil society and independent media outlets.
In response to this call for tender, a consortium spearheaded by Internews Europe and including CFI, Thomson Media, Article 19 and FOJO, set up the AGILE project to support civil society and provide it with the resources to protect and promote democracy, human rights and basic freedoms worldwide, by strengthening independent media outlets.
The approach adopted is firstly to encourage freedom for media outlets and online pluralism, and secondly to push back on disinformation, hate speech and extremism, harnessing an ongoing, collaborative learning programme, in order to foster an environment in which independent media outlets in risky situations may thrive.
The project has been divided into five themes (quality information, inclusion, sustainable economic models, accountability, and learning and the future of journalism) each handled by a member of the consortium. CFI’s role is to promote inclusive access to information by supporting fair representation and visibility for marginalised groups on the media scene, focussing on eight countries in Asia and Africa.
For there are many obstacles preventing minorities and marginalised communities from accessing pertinent, accurate information, whether because of their geographic location, socio-economic status, technology, language, censorship or discrimination. These groups are victims of discrimination in the media and on social networks, leading to issues of representation and stereotypes that readily expose them to injustice and risks in terms of safety.
Project beneficiaries
- Professionals and the community of media development donors,
- Journalists,
- Media outlets,
- Civil society organisations (societies of journalists and media outlets, CSOs and representatives of marginalised communities).
Actions
Mapping of the news environment
Mapping of supply and demand in terms of the information needs of marginalised communities.
Subsidies for training in community journalism and collaborative journalism initiatives
- Training in citizen reporting, based on the mapping results.
- Subsidies for community journalism projects and for teams involving both journalists and CSOs in order to produce audiovisual or digital content on human rights violations.
DEI workshops
Workshops for journalists, chief editors and representatives of dominant and marginalised communities to analyse public commitment, language, unconscious prejudice, ethic reporting and cultural sensitivity.
Examination of guidance in terms of inclusive reportage and advocacy in favour of inclusivity in the media
Work to identify practices already in place, challenges and room for improvement in terms of integration of inclusion in reporting, by way of surveys, interviews and analysis of content.
Pilot initiative: Hackathon AI/Tech4Good and subsidies for development
- Hackathon brings together AI and high-tech professionals, members of marginalised communities and journalists.
- Development, then subsidies for models helping to detect hate speech and disinformation targeting marginalised groups, AI moderation of content and AI translation of content into local languages.
Subsidies for inclusive newsrooms
- Encouraging media outlets to adopt practices and strategies to improve the representation of marginalised groups, diversity and more inclusive reporting.
- Financial support for initiatives by traditional media outlets (training, hiring of talent, technology upgrading, awareness raising on inclusion, etc.)
Event to capitalise on inclusive access to information
Working with Internews Europe, CFI will set up or reinforce business incubators for media outlets in risky situations, in three regions worldwide.
