On 20 December 2023, Ambassador Kerstin Pürschel presented an additional 506.000 Euro donation from the German Federal Government to the Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Mr Tawfik Jelassi, so as to strengthen UNESCO’s Global Media Defence Fund (GMDF).

The situation of independent media has deteriorated in many countries of the world and this contributes to an increase of autocratic structures. By means of this donation to UNESCO, Germany aims to counteract this trend.

This additional donation makes Germany the third largest contributor to the Global Media Defence Fund. So far, the GMDF has supported 120 projects, which aim to create a basis for a better protection of journalists and media workers and to promote freedom of the press and media through investigative journalism or legal prosecution of attacks on media professionals.

Apart from Germany, the following countries support the UNESCO administered Fund: Australia, Austria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxemburg, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, United Kingdom and, as a private donor, Siemens AG.