Executive Summary VIKES has been actively engaged in efforts to improve the press freedom and its corollary, freedom of expression in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras. It has supported independent journalists and the use of digital media, which holds great potential as a resource for press freedom and is an application of the individual human rights principle of freedom of expression1. In the VIKES regional programme, digital media serve as a platform for dialogue across the borders and permits innovative approaches to the distribution and acquisition of information. While the press freedom and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights, the complicated political situation in the region and security issues have posed challenges for action for independent media. According to the World Press Freedom Index2 all the countries in the region are worse now than they were ten years ago. Many independent journalists have been forced to exile or abandon their activities as a journalist. While journalists in Central America face harsh censorship, those who continue to work and speak out should be supported and defended. Without this, the corruption, repression and lack of human rights would go undocumented. In their general role, independent journalists, whom VIKES is supporting, are not human rights defenders. Nevertheless, on many occasions, their work contributes to the promotion or protection of human rights when they report on human rights abuses and bear witness to acts that they have seen. It is ideal in any democracy that the citizens are well informed about the society they live in, and the decisions they make about society. Taking account the actual situation in the region, the support that VIKES provides for independent journalism is more urgent than ever. Journalists in the region are facing unprecedented challenges, from declining revenues, a broken business model and a new form of censorship, threats to journalists’ safety and misinformation campaigns. In these conditions, the work that VIKES has been doing in the region has been relevant and successful. It has promoted the right of civil society to information and the right of media to freedom of expression. Activities that were planned in the programme document on the defense of fundamental rights to exercise free speech and democracy were implemented, and positive results were achieved. All the partner organizations have strengthened the exercise of democracy through digital media and investigative journalism, promoting citizen participation in public policies and improving the open-access and right to information. Networking and cooperation between independent media, journalists and CSOs are more reliable than ever in the region, and a new concept of collaborative journalism was introduced with positive results. VIKES supported media and independent journalists in producing high-quality information and investigative stories, supporting them to attract wider audiences.
New Media: The Press Freedom Dimension, Challenges and Opportunities of New Media for Press Freedom, Paris, 2007, UNESCO 2 rsf.org/en/ranking 1
Evaluation of the Regional Independent Media Support Programme
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