In the first phase, the projects, funded by the Hannah-Arendt-Initiative, will support at-risk journalists from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. This financial support will specifically be through emergency scholarships, training measures, regional scholarship programs and centers for journalists in exile in third countries, as well as with corresponding measures for those in exile in Germany. 

Until the end of 2022, the current projects are running in a pilot phase and cannot consider any further participants during this time. For offers that will be continued or newly offered in the coming year, there will be calls for proposals, which will also be published on the initiative’s homepage (www.hannah-arendt-initiative.de) 

Partners of the initiative include DW Akademie, the European Fund for Journalism in Exile (JX Fund), Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT) and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF). 

As a network partner, DW Akademie is implementing the pilot project „Space for Freedom“. The project aims to secure the professional livelihoods of media professionals from Afghanistan, Belarus and Russia who are now working in exile, while supporting critical reporting by journalists and media in exile. In addition, DW Akademie coordinates the network of partners within the Hannah Arendt Initiative, which will be open to further partners and facilitates the ongoing development of the support available. 

The MiCT Fellowship for “Critical Voices” is aimed at media professionals from war and crisis regions who are acutely threatened by political persecution, censorship or discrimination in their home countries. The initial focus is on supporting media professionals from Afghanistan, Belarus, Russia, Myanmar and Ukraine. Fellows receive technical advice, training, legal advice, psychosocial support, production support and a monthly stipend to cover their living expenses. 

ECPMF’s program “Voices of Ukraine” entails 120 stipends for journalists on the ground in Ukraine. The stipends provide these journalists with an income that enables them to continue their work and report independently. An additional fund within the program will be used to replace outdated or broken equipment such as cameras, computers and mobile phones. In addition, “Voices of Ukraine” supports the Journalists-in-Residence program in Kosovo, run by ECPMF and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). It provides 20 fellowships for Ukrainian media workers including a furnished apartment, health care, psychosocial support and professional training. The third element of “Voices of Ukraine” is a conference on war reporting, exile media and support offers that will take place in the beginning December in Bratislava, Slovakia. It aims to create a strong network that helps rebuild the Ukrainian media landscape after the war. 

The JX Fund has already supported more than 500 media professionals in 33 editorial offices and one media hub in eight countries since April 2022. The supported newsrooms in exile are currently from Russia and Belarus. The newsrooms abroad, which are unable to work in their country because of the war, from Ukraine. The JX Fund helps media professionals to continue their work after fleeing war and crisis zones in a quick and flexible way. The program also aims to strengthen independent media in exile beyond a phase of acute attention and to support the sustainable development of new editorial structures in exile so that the media can continue to reach their audiences in their home countries. 

The Federal Foreign Office has already earmarked 3.5 million euro for the Hannah Arendt Initiative in 2022. The funds will support media professionals who continue to promote independent reporting in their countries of origin through their work – initially 360 people abroad. By contributing 4.2 million euro to the European Fund for Journalism in Exile (JX Fund) in 2022, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media has already helped to support a total of more than 500 media professionals since April 2022. 

Going forward, the network will be open to additional partners to facilitate the continuous development of the support offered. The initiative and its projects are currently still in a pilot phase. The federal ministries will decide on a possible expansion of the initiative, with input from the organizations involved in the pilot phase. 

The initiative and its projects are currently still in a pilot phase. In a first step, they are focusing on journalists at risk from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. However, in the future, the network will be open to further partners to facilitate the ongoing development of the support offered. 

DW Akademie is currently conducting discussions and interviews around the world to draw a precise picture of the threats facing journalists. In the process, experts are also examining existing support services to identify potential gaps and new exigencies.  

The federal ministries will then decide on a possible expansion of the initiative, with input from the organizations involved in the pilot phase.  

The protection program is committed to the German constitutional requirements of state neutrality and separation of media and state. Funding is provided solely on the basis of opinion-neutral criteria and by independent juries whose opinions are not influenced by the state. 

The projects, which are funded by the Hannah Arendt Initiative, support journalists at risk from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. They will be supported specifically through emergency scholarships, training measures, regional scholarship programs and centers for journalists in exile in third countries, as well as with corresponding measures for those in exile in Germany.  The initiative is not designed to rescue media professionals from acute danger. 

In these cases, they can find help e.g. from  the European Union Human Rights Defenders network or the Journalists in Distress (JiD) network.

The projects, funded by the Hannah Arendt Initiative, support journalists at risk from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. They will be supported specifically through emergency scholarships, training measures, regional scholarship programs and centers for journalists in exile in third countries, as well as with corresponding measures for those in exile in Germany. This mandate does not include organizing emigrations, evacuations, or admissions into Germany. For people at risk from Afghanistan, the German government has set up the so-called Federal admission program for Afghanistan. For more information, see the websites of the civil society organizations involved, e.g. Kabul Luftbrücke

In addition, Reporters without Borders offers assistance for journalists from Afghanistan. 

Until the end of 2022, the current projects of the Hannah Arendt Initiative are running in a pilot phase and cannot consider any further participants during this time. For offers that will be continued or newly offered in the coming year, there will be calls for proposals, which will also be published on the initiative’s homepage (www.hannah-arendt-initiative.de)