Our mission in Africa
fesmedia Africa is the media project of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Africa. We believe that a free and open media landscape enables ordinary people to actively take part in, influence and improve their lives, as well as those of the communities and societies they live in. In order to participate in public life and decision-making, people need to have the means, skills and opportunities to access, exchange and use information and knowledge. They need to be able to communicate and exchange ideas, opinions, data, facts and figures about issues that affect them and their communities. As such, our work seeks to promote the development of a free and open media landscape which enables people to become the driving force for their economic, social and political progress.
We understand a free and open media landscape to be one that is:
- open and accessibe to all
- resilient and able to cope under unfolding political and economic pressures
- human rights-respecting
- furthers democratic values and practice under the rule of law
We therefore promote:
- freedom of expression
- freedom of information
- media's role of facilitating dialogue in society
We work with and support our partners to create the conditions under which the people and communities they serve can participate directly in realising their vision of sustainable economic, social and political progress for themselves.
The three focus areas we work in are:
1. The creation of legal frameworks and instruments which protect and promote freedom of expression, freedom of information and independent media.
2. The implementation of these frameworks and instruments to realise substantive enjoyment of the rights to information and expression at national and regional levels.
3. Building knowledge about the health of the media landscape in Africa, and how to effectively leverage it as a force for change in driving economic, social and political development.
