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Global Media Defence Fund Calls for Grant Proposals to Support Journalists
2023 Call for Partnerships for the Global Media Defence Fund
The 4th Call for Partnerships of the (GMDF) will allocate over USD $1 million in financial grants to support the implementation or expansion of local, regional and international projects. These projects, aligned with international human rights standards, should contribute to enhancing media freedom and strengthening journalists’ legal protection by advancing at least one of the following GMDF Outputs:
Output 2: Reinforcing the operationalization of national protection mechanisms and peer support networks to ensure journalists’ rapid access to legal assistance, bolster their defense and enhance their safety, taking into account the gendered nature of the threats against them;
Output 3: Supporting investigative journalism that contributes to reduced impunity for crimes against journalists by holding the justice system accountable and by pursuing investigative work that risks being censored when journalists are attacked; imprisoned, or murdered; and to enhancing the safety of those conducting this line of work;
Output 4: Enhancing structures for fostering strategic litigation in order to protect environments where the legal frameworks are conducive to an independent, free, and pluralistic media ecosystem.
This Call for Partnerships is open to specialized not-for-profit entities, including NGOs, media associations, journalists’ unions, human right defenders, lawyers’ associations and pro bono legal aid organizations, lawyers’ and investigative journalism networks, foundations, and academic institutions. Eligible organizations must have been active and registered for at least two years and meet the criteria established in the Call’s . The deadline for the submission of the proposals is 28 August 2023 at 23:59 GMT+2.
The financial grants awarded through this Call will range from a minimum USD $15,000 to a maximum $35,000.
The Global Media Defence Fund is a UNESCO Multi-Partner Trust Fund developed within the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
How can my organization submit a proposal to the Global Media Defence Fund?
All information you require on how to submit a partnership proposal under the 4th Call can be found , and is available in English, French, and Spanish.
Partnership proposals (including mandatory forms and supporting documents) must be submitted via email only to gmdf@unesco.org.
Administered by UNESCO, the Global Media Defence Fund has supported approximately 120 projects around the globe in the past three years, providing over USD $4 million in financial grants. Under the 2020 call, the Fund supported over 850 cases of legal assistance, 70 strategic litigation cases and 120 journalistic investigations into crimes against journalists, among other significant achievements.
The projects funded under the 2021 Call directly supported numerous beneficiaries, including over 2,962 journalists, 435 lawyers, 169 media organizations and 67 NGOs. These initiatives encompassed diverse activities such as strategic litigation to challenge legal provisions preventing journalists from doing their job, the establishment of a mobile legal assistance channel for journalists seeking legal protection and the creation of specialized protection teams for the legal defense of women journalists.
This 4th Call is possible thanks to the generous contributions of Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France Germany, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Serbia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and private sector donor Siemens.
