“All we want is to work in partnership with our readers” Interview Journalism is in a serious crisis. Nevertheless, alternative left-wing media are still out there in Europe, providing quality news and analysis with financial backing not from oligarchs or big business but from their readers. An exchange between the makers of merce.hu (Hungary), republik.ch (Switzerland), oko.press (Poland), and taz.de (Germany). Krisztian Simon
70 Years of Human Rights. Indivisible. Inalienable. Universal. Introduction 70 years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We work with our partners around the world towards making democracy and human rights, dignity and freedom a reality for all. The triad of HUman Rights - Democracy- Ecological Sustainability is the basis for our work. Barbara Unmüßig
[COP24] Great expectations, low execution: The Katowice climate change conference COP 24 Assessement The Katowice climate package brings minor progress, but COP 24 failed to deliver on the most fundamental issues such as raising ambition of national contributions, implementing human rights, and ensuring support for developing countries. Don Lehr, Liane Schalatek
Towards Gender Sensitive Media Coverage of Violence Against Women and Femicide/Feminicide Workshop Appropriate news coverage regarding violence against women and feminicide, without discriminatory stereotypes and in tune with the advances of women's rights and gender equality, can contribute to changing mentalities and diminishing VAW. Much still needs to be done considering the emerging fundamentalist discourses, as well as the global backlash against women’s rights. Patricia Jimenez
Unpacking COP24 and its implications for Southeast Asia Article This year’s United Nations climate conference wrapped up this month in Katowice, Poland with just enough progress to make the Paris Agreement operational. Yet too few countries stepped up in response to a year of extremes and a slew of reports, all highlighting the widening gap between what science demands and what is actually being acted upon. Denise Fontanilla
How to Prevent the Chaos of Disintegration Blog What if... the Eurozone became a real transfer union to reduce economic inequality and increasing social unrest between and within Member States? Read our last post on the Reconnecting Europe blog and find more topics that shaped the EU in 2018. Ricardo Cabral, Viriato Soromenho-Marques
Political action for fundamental right of information and a democratic public sphere Interview Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, explains the vision of how to secure the public space of communication. Beatrice White
The European Union and the Western Balkans: Bad Plans and Unfulfilled Promises Article Generally, the reconciliation processes in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in most other Balkan countries seem to retrograde. Economic and political situations are still unstable and a brutal plunder of state and social property left devastating consequences. The EU's interference in the region doesn't help stabilising the 'black mosaic'. Zlatko Dizdarević
EU’s Role in speeding up energy transition in the Western Balkans and Ukraine Documentation Obviously, the destiny of sustainable transition of Western Balkan and Eastern European economies is above all in control of the respective countries themselves. Still, the EU is in a decisive position to create conditions for a dynamic of change and a successful modernisation. Robert Sperfeld
Striving for Gender Equality Blog In the early days of his mandate Erdoğan presented himself as one of the main defenders of women’s rights. However, after 2010 the government focused predominantly on religious themes and defined gender roles more and more traditionally and restrictive. According to surveys, nearly 50% of all Turkish women have experienced domestic violence and the political climate is increasingly discriminating against women. Charlotte Joppien