European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
A European centre for press and media freedom: journalist protection, legal aid and grants for independent media in the Eastern Partnership.
About the fund
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) is a non-profit organisation founded in Leipzig in 2015 as a European Cooperative Society (SCE). It was founded by 25 representatives of journalism, publishing and media law from 16 European countries.
The Centre's mission is to promote, preserve and defend media freedom by monitoring violations (including through the Mapping Media Freedom platform), providing practical and legal support to journalists and engaging diverse stakeholders across Europe. Its Journalists-in-Residence programme offers journalists at risk temporary shelter in Leipzig.
For Ukraine, the key project is SAFE (Support and Assistance for Free Expression), run under the Hannah Arendt Initiative with support from the German Federal Foreign Office. It provides emergency, psychological and capacity support to journalists and independent media in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Focus areas
- Press and media freedom
- Journalist safety
- Legal support for media workers
- Monitoring of media freedom violations
- Resilience of independent media in the Eastern Partnership
- Digital security
Interesting facts
Founded in Leipzig in 2015 by 25 media representatives from 16 countries.
Since 2015 the Journalists-in-Residence programme has hosted 86 journalists from 15 countries.
The SAFE project offers Eastern Partnership media grants of up to 5,000 euros per training programme.
How to apply
Independent media from Ukraine and other Eastern Partnership countries can apply for SAFE grants of up to 5,000 euros per training programme (current round deadline: 30 September 2026). New rounds and other support are announced at ecpmf.eu.
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