Internews provides training for media professionals to strengthen democracy and freedom of expression and to provide an opportunity for journalists within the region to become proficient.

Capacity building activities include specialized reporting and advocacy training to strengthen local voices, digital security support and short- and long-term mentoring for both journalists and human rights activists.

Internews’ Europe and Eurasia team has been working in the region since 1992, supporting diverse, high-quality media that serve the public interest and promote vibrant civic dialogue throughout the Balkans, the Baltics, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

We help local partners such as national and regional independent media outlets and media support organizations carry out a range of initiatives including educating citizens and journalists about the role of a responsible media sector, fostering critical thinking and media literacy, increasing the quality and quantity of reporting by local journalists, helping media improve their online offerings and supporting traditional media in their efforts to go digital, providing legal support to journalists and media outlets, and reforming media legislation to better protect the freedom of speech and the press.

These approaches aim to create a vibrant, resilient media environment and a well-informed, active citizenry, as well as provide opportunities for cross-border dialogue and mutual understanding of shared challenges and opportunities throughout the region.

Internews’ Asia portfolio consists of diverse initiatives broadening access to information and freedom of expression, often set against a backdrop of profound political and social transition. 

Internews entered Asia in 1999 to help build a public-interest media landscape in Indonesia in the aftermath of the Reformasi. Over 20 years later, we have expanded across Asia, with 30+ active projects across 12 primary countries plus regional environmental, humanitarian and health projects in 20+ countries.

With democratic backsliding a pressing issue in the region, Internews Asia empowers local actors – including journalists and civil society organizations – to hold governments to account, defend civic spaces and improve access to information.

Our programming provides local actors with technical assistance, capacity building, legal support, story grants, and networking opportunities, with a special focus on championing gender equality, combatting the COVID-19 infodemic and misinformation more broadly, supporting digital and media literacy, improving media sustainability, defending religious freedom and Rule of Law, promoting economic empowerment, and enshrining journalist safety.

Internews is recognized in the region for its on-the-ground, co-creation approach and extensive local networks, producing programs that deliver meaningful, long-term impact.