BlueLink Joined the European Center for Press and Media Freedom

BlueLink has become a member of the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) - a non-profit organisation with the mission to promote, preserve and defend media freedom. BlueLink joined the pan-European organisation in the end of May 2020.

ECPMF operates on the basis of the European Charter on Freedom of the Press and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Its vision is a society where media freedom enables open discourse and everyone can seek, receive and impart information.

In the spirit of solidarity, the European Co-operative creates a network for the otherwise very fragmented media and journalism community. The centre moderates the member network consisting of individuals, academic bodies, unions, investigative journalist organisations, media industry, campaigning and aid organisations etc.

“Joining the ECPMF is an important step for BlueLink in its support of watchdog journalism and independent critical voices and an opportunity to further develop our work in the field. It is in line with BlueLink’s midterm strategy”, says Pavel Antonov, Executive Editor of BlueLink.

The ECPMF was founded in Leipzig, Germany. On May 25th, 2009 48 editors-in-chief and leading journalists from 19 countries adopted and signed the "European Charter on Freedom of the Press" in Hamburg.

In ten articles, the charter formulates principles for the freedom of the press from government interference - in particular for their right to safety from surveillance, electronic eavesdropping and searches of editorial departments and computers, and to unimpeded access for journalists and citizens to all domestic and foreign sources of information

The goal is to assert the charter’s validity across Europe and to make its adoption a condition in EU accession negotiations. The charta was handed over to the European Commission in Brussels on June 9th 2009 and to the Council of Europe in Luxembourg on October 26th 2009.

The ECPMF strives its goals by monitoring violations, providing practical support and engaging diverse stakeholders across Europe.

Results from its monitoring of media freedom violations across EU Member States and Candidate Countries are displayed on mappingmediafreedom.org. By running the “Journalists-in-Residence” Programme, a Helpdesk for practical support and offering legal assistance, ECPMF directly helps media workers under threat. By campaigning and advocating to influential stakeholders at all levels, the results of the monitoring and investigative journalism and support activities are brought to public attention.

Among the recent work of the ECPMF is Corona Watch - a special page aiming to document violations of press and media freedom during the COVID-19 crisis.

Another important thing

In order to keep supporting the strtategic use of information and telecommunication technologies and the internet by civil society, for the sake of nature protection, common European values and democracy, we need to be independent. You can support BlueLink by making a donation  to the BlueLink Foundation or  becoming a volunteer to help our activities. Learn more about BlueLink's mission, vision and activities here.