International Press Institute is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. Founded in October 1950, the IPI has members in over 120 countries. IPI's membership is made up of editors and media executives working for some of the world's most respected media outlets. IPI has also established a new membership category: "IPI Leading Journalists" which is open to heads of media departments, bureau chiefs, correspondents and others. In several countries, including Nepal and Azerbaijan, IPI members have established National Committees that support IPI in its work to improve the situation for media. IPI enjoys consultative status with the UN, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. IPI is a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global network of non-governmental organisations that monitors press freedom and free expression violations worldwide. It is also a member of the Tunisia Monitoring Group, a coalition of 16 free expression organisations that lobbies the Tunisian government to improve its human rights record. In October 2006, the U.S. National Television Academy honoured IPI with an International Emmy Award for its press freedom work.
Activities
Protest Letters
IPI monitors press freedom around the world and responds to threats and attacks on journalists and media outlets by sending protest letters to governments and inter-governmental organisations. These threats are often brought to IPI's attention by its members, many of whom experience such difficulties first-hand while carrying out their profession.
IPI leads missions to countries where press freedom is under threat, meeting with government officials, diplomats, journalists and non-governmental organisations, and providing legal representation and support in court cases.
Research
IPI undertakes extensive research on issues relevant to the media and circulates several on press freedom, including the quarterly magazine IPI Global Journalist. IPI regularly scrutinises new media laws and provides governments with recommendations on how to bring their legislation in line with internationally accepted standards on freedom of expression. IPI also monitors journalists killed worldwide. Since 1997, it has kept a of media casualties.
World Press Freedom Review
Each year, IPI publishes an authoritative report on media violations around the world: .
World Press Freedom Heroes
In 2000, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, IPI named 50 journalists "World Press Freedom Heroes". Since then, as of 2011, ten more have been so named, including, posthumously, the murdered journalists Hrant Dink of Turkey and Anna Politkovskaya of Russia.
Established in 1996, the IPI Free Media Pioneer Award honours individuals or organisations that fight against great odds to ensure freer and more independent media in their country or region. The award is co-sponsored by the US-based Freedom Forum, a non-partisan, international foundation dedicated to free press and free speech.
Each year, IPI holds an international congress where several hundred publishers, editors and senior journalists from around the world gather to debate and discuss a range of issues that concern the fight for a free media.
