MCCM
RESILIENCE
OUR MEDIA
The vision of the IPS Communication Foundation/Independent Communication Foundation (BIA), founded in 1993 in Turkey, is free, critical and pluralistic media that respect people’s differences and uphold their rights.
The unique contribution of IPS in the realization of its vision with its expertise and strengths is to ensure that the voices of the ignored and silenced are increasingly heard in public debate through provision of unbiased, inclusive and actionable news reporting as well as experience and knowledge sharing. IPS aims to become and be considered as a model for rights-based journalism in Turkey.
IPS focuses its work on three areas that it considers indivisible for the achievement of its objectives:
- The Editorial Desk of the website bianet.org (publishes in Turkish, Kurdish and English) works towards becoming an example of independent news channel, acting as an open space for sharing and producing reliable and non-biased news on human rights.
- Freedom of Expression – IPS/BIA monitors and publishes news and reports on the developments regarding freedom of expression and press freedom, particularly violations and the struggle in this domain. IPS/BIA prepares quarterly and annual Media Monitoring Reports on the situation of freedom of expression in Turkey (since 2001) that act as a database and lobbying material for the movement advocating freedom of expression rights locally (in the challenging and restrictive legal and de facto situation) and globally. IPS/BIA also listed the legal actions and the third-party interferences to freedom of the press in Turkey (since 2019) in an online and daily updated Media Monitoring Database.
- Training and Capacity Building – IPS/BIA provides training programs and resource materials under the name BIA Seminars/Atölye BIA for the promotion of independent and rights-based journalism. It introduces 150 participants per year to rights-based reporting, citizen journalism, peace journalism, gender-based journalism and alternative use of new/social media. Training is delivered to working journalists and fresh graduates of communication faculties. Also, IPS/BIA publishes books and other resources that provide information about rights-based journalism, available in the BIA online library.
IPS/BIA also produces and publishes Male violence tally covering statistical, demographical and geographical data of violence against women on monthly basis since 2008.
IPS is a member of SEENPM and IFEX.
