International Media Support (IMS) is a non-profit organisation working to support local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition. Across four continents, IMS helps to strengthen professional journalism and ensure that media can operate in challenging circumstances.

IMS was established in 2001 in the wake of the tragic events in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. In the 1990s, these and other conflicts saw media being manipulated and used as a tool to fuel violent conflict. IMS was set up in response to this trend with the aim to help local media working in conflict-affected areas to remain operative and professional.

Freedom of Expression and a free press are key elements in the democratic development of a country. To achieve this, it works to enable media to reduce conflict, strengthen democracy and bring about dialogue in close partnership with local media and media support organisations nationally as well as internationally. 

They work to:

Provide safety and protection for journalists
Advocate media rights and monitoring violations
Promote fair media laws and media reforms
Media business development
Support media associations and media centres
Provide training in new media platforms and technology
Professionalise journalism through specialised training for media workers and media content monitoring

 


What They Do

IMS works within a wide range of media development areas to support and promote free media in countries undergoing political transition, in emerging democracies and in countries with conflicts, repressive and autocratic governments.

They work addresses three overall areas of the media sector that must function in order for media to play its watchdog role:

Enabling legal environment
Strong media infrastructure
Professional media content