Repubblika is taking part in its biggest EU-funded project so far, making a new contribution to its mission of holding the government to account and strengthening the rule of law.
We are one of four European partner organisations involved in the two-year, €200,000 project that explores the way civil society organisations can bolster the work of investigative journalism.
The project, which kicked off in December, is called SINFO, short for Sustainable Information. Its aim is to build a sustainable network of independent journalists and activists prepared to deepen their collaboration in the fight against corruption, in the promotion of social justice and protection of the environment.
A total of 22 independent journalists from Malta, and 10 Maltese civil society organisations, have signed up to form part of the four-country network and participate in some of the project activities.
SINFO brings together civil society and journalism organisations from four European countries – Malta, Italy, Romania and Belgium. The partners are Repubblika (Malta), Tele Radio City (Italy), Asociatia Jurnalistilor De Investigatii Context (Romania) and Sustainable Communication Aisbl (Belgium).
The project partners are motivated by the values of democracy and freedom of information, social rights, good governance and environmental sustainability.
Repubblika president Vicki Ann Cremona said: “Repubblika shares the vision of our partners in this project to bring together independent journalists and civil society activists to work towards their common goals of fighting corruption, ensuring social justice, and safeguarding the rule of law. SINFO is an important opportunity to reach these aims.”
One of the key activities in the multitude that form part of SINFO over two years is the provision of expert training and mentoring to both journalists and activists within the network, aimed at improving their investigative reporting skills and helping them work together more effectively.
Then, following a selection process, eight grants of €5,000 each (two grants for each country) will be offered to participants to research and publish an investigative report under the guidance of mentors and editors from SINFO.
Among other significant activities is a series of online discussions for European journalists, activists, intellectuals and experts revolving around the destructive phenomena of false narratives, state propaganda, hate speech and anti-democratic discourse.
Repubblika will be organising a public campaign called No Democracy Without Journalism, aimed at promoting the value of independent journalism to protect democratic rights.
It will also produce a digital handbook for civil society organisations, as a guide to engaging effectively with independent media.
The final objective of the project is to create a working model of sustainable activist-journalist collaboration, rooted in democratic values, that can be transferred to other countries and contexts.
Visit the project website at sinfo-project.eu
