Journalists @ Your Service was set up in 2001 by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in collaboration with the International Press Association (API/IPA) and the Belgian union of professional journalists (AGJPB/AVBB). Since then the list of partners has expanded steadily. Today it includes the following organisations:
The AVBB/AGJPB is the Belgian union of professional journalists. It includes journalists working for newspapers, magazines, radio and television companies, and internet firms. As Belgium is a country with a Flemish and a French-speaking community, the AVBB/AGJPB comprises both a Flemish journalists union (the VVJ) and a “Francophone” one (the AJP). The VVJ has around 2,000 members, the AJP 1,500. For more information, visit: http://www.avbb.be (French/Dutch).
The IPA is not a journalists’ trade union in the classical sense. It is an association which aims to assist its members in the exercise of their profession as well as, if need be, in their daily life in a foreign country. IPA is self-financing, in particular by the subscriptions of its members. This guarantees it great independence in its role of representing the professional interests of members in national and international contexts.
The IPA is recognised as the mouthpiece of foreign journalists in Belgium, and over the years has become the negotiator with the national and international institutions in solving specific problems for member journalists, notably over facilitating access to information, creating favourable working conditions during the different conferences and meetings organised by the presidency of the European Union in different member states, and last but not least, reaching satisfactory solutions to the problems of foreign journalists in setting up and staying in Belgium. For more information, visit http://www.api-ipa.eu/ (English/French).
European Journalism Centre (EJC)
Founded in 1992 in Maastricht, the Netherlands, the European Journalism Centre is an independent, non-profit, mid-career training centre aiming to promote the highest standards in journalism.
Relying on its extensive network of journalism trainers, experts and media specialists, the EJC offers short, intensive seminars for journalists across Europe and beyond. The EJC organises activities in the main European languages in an increasing number of locations across the continent.
Over the past years the EJC has developed a comprehensive series of training seminars, workshops and roundtable discussions designed to give media professionals the background information and the tools to understand the mechanisms, the impact and the challenges of the European integration process. More information at http://www.ejc.net/
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
The IFJ is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation that promotes co-ordinated international action to defend press freedom and social justice through the development of strong, free and independent trade unions of journalists.
The IFJ works closely with the United Nations, UNESCO, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, WIPO, the ILO, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the European Union, the Council of Europe and with a wide range of international trade union and freedom of expression organisations. The IFJ mandate covers both professional and industrial interests of journalists. For more information, see http://www.ifj.org
In July 2001 Belgium opened an International Press Centre in Brussels. Now established in the Résidence Palace in the heart of the city’s European quarter, the opening of the new press centre coincided with the start of the Belgian Presidency of the EU. Since that time, the International Press Centre has become the meeting place par excellence for journalists, policymakers, spokesmen and communication experts from Belgium and abroad. The centre provides the best possible facilities for organisers of press conferences, seminars and debates, so that they in turn can enable the journalists to work in as comfortable surroundings as possible. For more information, see http://presscenter.org/
The Brussels branch of the National Union of Journalists of Great Britain and Ireland (NUJ) has around 100 members working as journalists, editors, photographers, broadcasters and PR professionals in and around the city. The branch email network - Grapevine - links to NUJ email networks across Europe and disseminates latest information and work opportunities.
NUJ Brussels also campaigns on key issues facing the media in Europe, such as transparency, access to information and freedom of speech, and supports its colleagues in other journalist trade unions the world over. For more information see:
- NUJ Brussels: http://www.nujbrussels.org.uk
- NUJ Head Office: http://www.nuj.org.uk
