The JX Fund is helping media professionals to continue their work quickly and flexibly after they have fled war and crisis regions. It aims to strengthen independent media in exile after attention has shifted elsewhere and to support them in building sustainable media outlets that remain accessible in their home countries.

Putin’s attack on Ukraine has not only plunged Ukrainian media organisations into an existential crisis; it has led to the bombing of numerous media buildings and put reporters’ lives in danger. In Russia, the Kremlin has increased censorship to such an extent that hundreds of media professionals who long defied official pressure have now left the country. Many of them want to continue their work in exile and re-establish their editorial offices; the situation is similar for the many reporters who fled Belarus after Alexander Lukashenko’s “re-election” in 2020.

The fund, initiated by Civitates, strengthens the field of independent, public-interest journalism in Europe by providing structural, core support for the exciting but stretched organisations that exist in this space.

Independent, in-depth, public-interest journalism in Europe finds itself under increasing pressure. Across the continent, media organisations are struggling with decreasing trust, declining media freedom and independence and increasing difficulties in sustaining themselves financially.

For this reason, several European foundations have joined forces and set up a fund under the umbrella of the philanthropic initiative Civitates to strengthen the field of independent public-interest journalism.

The fund provides multi-year funding to cover operating costs and helps grant recipients to strengthen their institutions to build more durable, more resilient, more networked and more impactful public-interest journalism organisations in Europe. The focus is particularly on organisations that are operating under difficult political and economic conditions.

The funded organisations are:

• IRPI – Investigative reporting project – Italy

More diversity in journalism: the mentoring programme by New German Media Makers supports journalists with immigrant backgrounds or experiences as refugees in starting their careers.

Journalists with histories of migration are still rarely represented in German media houses. For them, entering the profession often involves hurdles. This is where the mentoring programme “Pathways into Journalism” (Wege in den Journalismus) and later “Strengthening Diversity” (Vielfalt stärken) comes in. The participants receive coaching from experienced colleagues, they take part in numerous training programmes and make contacts with well-known media houses through editorial visits and projects. In this way, the programme aims to place as many mentees

as possible in traineeships or permanent positions.

We are convinced that the greatest possible diversity of perspectives is essential for balanced and unprejudiced media reporting. Structural obstacles often prevent journalists with immigrant backgrounds from contributing their knowledge to editorial offices. The mentoring programme takes a comprehensive and sustainable approach to removing these obstacles – which is why we support the project.

With CORRECTIV.Lokal, the non-profit investigative newsroom CORRECTIV has established a Germany-wide network for collaborative local journalism.

Local investigative journalism faces various challenges: due to budget and job cuts, complex research projects often cannot be undertaken. CORRECTIV.Lokal is looking to counteract this tendency: the network offers a platform to local journalists, bloggers and experts to gather information on specific topics. At the same time, it initiates projects of both local and national relevance. In this way, local journalists can collectively launch and conduct investigations that one local newsroom alone would not have the capacity to undertake. These investigations are eventually published with an individual and local focus.

Exposing structural abuses of power at the European level, “Investigate Europe” is enriching media coverage with its multiplicity of perspectives and excellent investigations.

“Investigate Europe” is a research network of journalists from eleven European countries. These media professionals work collectively on topics that are of political or social relevance throughout Europe. To name but a few, they have investigated Europe’s dependence on Microsoft, the control of Europe’s external borders and the exploitation of Eastern European truck drivers. The results are published across Europe in different media and languages.

Globalisation is making relationships increasingly complex, and crises do

The exhibition “Women on the Move” shows work by photographers from Eastern Europe who are documenting socio-political movements in their home countries and questioning traditional images of women.

From the women’s marches in Belarus to the fight against abortion restrictions in Poland: women in Eastern Europe have been attracting attention as political actors for years. Yet, they have their own historical socialisation patterns: although they were considered relatively equal under communism, they usually had to combine gainful employment with sole responsibility for housework and child-rearing. Nowadays, strongly traditional gender roles seem incompatible with the self-understandings of this new generation of women. With the exhibition “Women on the Move”, the Society for Humanistic Photography (Gesellschaft für Humanistische Fotografie) asks: how do they see themselves? And what do we see in them?

The photographs show Eastern European societies that are “between action and tradition”. The subjects they are dealing with are protest, generations and role models.

Women on the Move presents photographers who are little known in Germany. The exhibition shows Eastern Europe directly from the perspective of local people and advocates for freedom of expression and democratic participation. We support this linkage between art, journalism and activism.

The BURNING ISSUES conference series advocates for more equitable and diverse structures in the theatre world.

BURNING ISSUES is a networking and exchange platform: the event brings together artists of all disciplines with cultural and media professionals to discuss issues such as equality, diversity and inclusion. Panels, workshops, keynotes, performances, and artistic interventions shine a light on gender hierarchies on and off stage and raise awareness of equality.

An important element of the event is the Market of Opportunities: here, initiatives and associations present their work and campaign for structural change in the cultural and theatre work.

In 2019, the conference took place as part of the Berliner Theatertreffen; in 2020, a cooperation with Kampnagel in Hamburg followed. In 2022, BURNING ISSUES returns to the Theatertreffen. This edition of

BURNING ISSUES will broaden the focus from equality to a more globally conceived justice and ask what sustainable changes would make equitable theatre possible.

Germany still lags far behind in terms of equality. Because the event makes an important contribution to the debate on gender justice in the theatre landscape and has become a trend-setting compass for cultural and media professionals, we sponsor BURNING ISSUES.

In “The Making of Pinocchio”, artist duo Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill explore the question of who defines what is real in terms of gender and sex.

In their first international co-production, the artist duo from Glasgow use their own everyday experience as the starting point for an artistically framed debate about the realities of life in the LGBTQIA* community: in 2018, MacAskill came out as trans* and began to medically transition. In parallel, Cade came out as non-binary. Given the lack of representation of queer couples in transition, Cade and MacAskill decided to creatively document their transformation.

The story of the wooden puppet Pinocchio, who wants to be a “real” boy, serves as a reflection surface for the artists’ autobiographical experiences.

In the setting of a film studio, the audience gets a glimpse into Cade and MacAskill’s creative process and their relationship.

The “Making of Pinocchio” challenges binary narratives of transition, contributing to the current debate around trans* identities. The stage piece also deliberately addresses the LGBTQIA* community in order to strengthen them in the self-confident recognition of their own identity. We support these approaches.

The experimental concert series “urban string” by Ensemble Resonanz combines chamber music and club culture.

The concert series “urban string” brings classical music into the world of urban nightlife. In the heart of Hamburg’s St. Pauli district, Ensemble Resonanz presents a programme developed and presented by the musicians themselves. The musical repertoire ranges from classicism to compositions from the 20th century and contemporary pieces. Collaborations with DJs and artists from other disciplines complement the diverse programme and lend “urban string” the atmosphere of an artistic laboratory. In this way, the concert series aims to make classical music more accessible.

Ensemble Resonanz is one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras. Since 2017, this democratically organised string orchestra has had a residency in the Elbphilharmonie. With “urban string”, its musicians are breaking new ground to reach a heterogeneous and primarily young audience. The concert series thus stands for openness and courage. This joy of experimentation paired with the high artistic level have won us over.

Even ten years after the end of the NSU complex, much of the background to the events remains unclear ­– there are questions about the cognisance and complicity of state structures that have not yet been satisfactorily answered. The resulting uncertainty and the growing right-wing extremist environment continue to (re)traumatise the victims’ families until today. Many of them live in fear of not being safe in Germany, a fact that is almost unimaginable for many non-affected people.

“Kein Schlussstrich!” brings the perspectives of the relatives onto theatre stages in the cities where the racist NSU attacks took place or where the perpetrators grew up. In a Germany-wide,

collectively developed framework programme, these “perpetrator cities” are called upon to address their complicity and enter into a dialogue with the people who have been affected.

The project calls on people to engage with the NSU complex in a new way and to develop empathy for those affected. In this way, the project strengthens a free society based on solidarity – we support this goal.