2013-10-01

Journalismfund.eu is very happy to announce the Dutch Adessium Foundation as a new donor. Over a period of three years, from October 2013 to September 2016, Adessium Foundation will support Journalismfund.eu’s cross-border investigative journalism programme as a premium donor.

BRUSSELS - Journalismfund.eu is very happy to announce the Dutch Adessium Foundation as a new donor. Over a period of three years, from October 2013 to September 2016, Adessium Foundation will support Journalismfund.eu’s cross-border investigative journalism programme as a premium donor.

The funding will allow Journalismfund.eu to organise regular calls for applications for journalistic research grants in the coming three years, thereby further professionalising its operations and strengthening its position as one of the top players in European transnational journalism.

The partnership falls under Adessium Foundation’s Public Integrity programme, through which the organisation strives for an open, democratic society and the availability of independent information to safeguard integrity and the public interest.

Journalismfund.eu’s board and management are thrilled with the structural funding the new partnership provides.

Chairwoman Brigitte Alfter: “The need for international investigative journalism has never been higher than it is now. Political as well as economical national borders are fading and will continue to do so in the future. Cross-border journalism is a new method that is being developed these years. Networks are being established and there is intense interest in the journalism community to tackle the professional challenge of covering an internationalised reality.”

Managing director Ides Debruyne does not see viable business models for cross-border reporting yet. “Support from foundations such as Adessium helps journalists to adjust to the new demands. Through its funding, Adessium Foundation will help Journalismfund.eu stimulate transnational journalism and force a breakthrough in building a European public sphere. I hope this will be an extra stimulus for top-class journalists to apply for a working grant and do some European cross-border journalism.”

Other donors that have supported Journalismfund.eu in the past are Open Society Foundations and the Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation.

The news of the partnership comes just weeks after the Leipzig Media Foundation announced their Prize for the Freedom and Future of the Media 2013 would be awarded to Journalismfund.eu for its recognition of the “need for thorough research on European issues without being impeded by national borders”.

The Flemish non-profit Pascal Decroos Fund for Investigative Journalism was founded in 1998 and has applied the method of research grants to stimulate quality journalism from the beginning. Since 2008 European cross-border reporting grants have been offered, and in 2013 the non-profit officially changed its name to Journalismfund.eu.