Yesterday 29 October, Undersecretary for Global Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Minna-Liina Lind took part in the conference Information Integrity and Independent Media, held on the margins of the Paris Peace Forum. The event was co-hosted by the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) and the Forum on Information and Democracy, and focused on promoting access to independent journalism and reliable information. During the conference, Estonia formally joined the Council of IFPIM.
Undersecretary Lind emphasised that in the face of mounting pressure from authoritarian regimes, international support for independent journalism is essential. “Disinformation, censorship, violence against journalists and manipulation of information threaten the transmission of fact-based reporting – even in democratic societies,” Lind noted. “Access to trustworthy information is the cornerstone of democracy, and we must all play our part in safeguarding a diverse and open information space.”
The conference also saw the adoption of a declaration affirming the international community’s shared commitment to protecting an independent and pluralistic media environment and addressing challenges to media freedom. The declaration sets out to strengthen global cooperation between the public and private sectors and civil society, with the aim of enhancing the reliability of public information and defending the operational freedom of independent media outlets.
Estonia’s accession to the IFPIM Council marks a logical step following its long-standing active engagement with the fund. “Safeguarding a free and independent media space and protecting journalists are central priorities in Estonia’s foreign policy,” Lind stressed. “We have championed freedom of expression as co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition (2023–2025) and, this year, as chair of the Freedom Online Coalition. Promoting media freedom is also one of Estonia’s priorities during our upcoming membership of the UN Human Rights Council. As a Council member of IFPIM, we will help shape the fund’s strategic direction over the next two years, highlighting issues of particular importance to Estonia.”
The International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) was established in 2022 to support independent and public-interest journalism. Its mission is to ensure that people around the world have access to reliable and independent information by helping to finance ethical and fact-based media outlets. To date, IFPIM has supported over 120 organisations across 31 countries, with nearly 19 countries and organisations having joined the initiative. Estonia is among the fund’s donor countries.
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