The Foreign Policy Centre (FPC), the Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) are pleased to announce the inaugural UK Media Freedom  Forum will take place on Tuesday 04 and Wednesday 05 March 2025, in partnership with City, University of London.

We are delighted that the Forum is being realised in cooperation with the Safety of journalists platform of the Council of Europe, with additional support from UNESCO’s Global Media Defence Fund, RPC and JFJ. Notably, the event will also serve as the UK launch of the CoE’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists 2025 Annual Report. 

More details about the conference are included below. To register your interest, and to receive updates about the Forum moving forward, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/J9LyhpJ6b4UHKhzn9. 

About the UK Media Freedom Forum

Today media freedom faces an ever complex range of challenges, with an interconnectivity between the domestic and global environment. States and other stakeholders play a vital role in addressing these issues, but there is often a gap between their stated commitments and delivery.

This two-day Forum will explore a number of themes impacting media freedom around the world, including strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and other legal threats, transnational repression, misinformation and disinformation, journalism in exile, economic pressure, spyware and surveillance and the impact of artificial intelligence.

The conference will assess the effectiveness of the UK and other States’ involvement with global initiatives, including the 50+ members of the  Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), and stakeholder engagement with the United Nations, OSCE, the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, and CoE when it comes to taking concrete action to defending media freedom.

The conference will provide space to evaluate the extent of existing and emerging problems, and also act as a vehicle through which journalists, policy makers, academics and civil society organisations  can develop concrete policy recommendations for the UK government and other national stakeholders, with the aim of creating greater transparency and accountability on media freedom related issues. 

If you have any questions or queries about the Forum, please contact: events@fpc.org.uk