History

Internews Europe was founded in 1995 at a time when the continent was still coming to terms with the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist Eastern Europe. The founders of Internews Europe, a cross section of highly respected international media experts, shared the vision that the media’s role was not only about reporting events but had a positive role to play in peace-building and reconciliation; that it could be used to empower civil society and support governance, democratic development and human rights. They also recognised that local media needed significant international support to come close to achieving these goals.

1995-2000

Across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Soviet republics and other communist strongholds suddenly became new and independent states. In due course, separatism arose, creating deep divisions in the Balkans that degenerated into war. At the same time, Algeria was racked by an undeclared civil war between Muslim fundamentalists and the military regime, and local and international media got caught up in the conflict.

With a strong focus on audio-visual production activities, Internews Europe worked in these regions to enhance tolerance and reconciliation and to build bridges between people(s) through international co-productions, broadcast linkages, journalism training and documentary production. In turn, Internews supported the creation of road maps for the newly independent media in countries transitioning to democracy.

2000-present


Internews has now worked for more than a decade to further develop a global package of programmes across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Russia, the Balkans and the Caucasus. These programmes address key global issues such as governance and transparency, human rights, humanitarian and emergency response, post-crisis stabilisation, economic development, health and the environment; issues with a solid link to the Millennium Development Goals.

At the cutting edge of the constant technological evolution of the internet, mobile communications, web 2.0, citizen journalism and participatory media, Internews Europe has helped local media to seize the opportunities of the information revolution and allowed communities to harness the power of these new tools.

Internews Europe also remains at the forefront of the international media assistance sector, helping to establish the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD), an alliance of 500 organisations that work together to ensure that media development is accorded the same policy status in international development as other key sectors, such as health and education.