Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) is a membership-based NGO that gathers more than 2500 freely associated professional journalists (about 1000 are active members). Established in 1994 by journalists, dissatisfied with the work of the Association of Journalists of Serbia. The initiators were members of the Management Board of the Solidarity Fund and representatives of about thirty newsrooms throughout Serbia, mostly gathered in the Independence Trade Union, among which there were many who left the Association of Journalists’ of Serbia. IJAS is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) from 1994.
IJAS vision is a free and informed society, with a legally and economically regulated media market according to democratic standards, in which journalists and other media workers unhindered inform citizens in the public interest, in accordance with the professional and ethical principles of the profession.
IJAS mission is to use powerful and proactive public actions to protect the rights of its members and other media professionals in Serbia and to systematically improves professional standards and promotes ethically responsible journalism.
Key values: independence and consistency in the application of the highest professional and ethical standards in journalism, transparency of work, anti-discrimination, tolerance, participation in decision-making, responsibility, solidarity with colleagues.
Our main fields of work are:
· Providing services for our members, different kind of discounts, legal and psychological support
· Education
· Research
· Advocacy
As a result of its monitoring and research activities, IJAS has positioned itself as a go-to organisation to stakeholders interested in timely and correct information about the position and safety of journalists and media-related legal framework.
IJAS most important activities include constant monitoring, registering and acting upon violations of human, professional, labour and other rights of journalists and violations of media freedoms in Serbia, research and analysis of current media policies, development of new solutions and advocating for their implementation. Additionally, IJAS is one of the founders of the Press Council and actively promotes the implementation of the Ethical Code, encouraging independent and investigative journalism, professional development of journalists, etc.
IJAS is the founder of the SafeJournalists network which includes BH Journalists, the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, the Association of Journalists of Macedonia, and the Croatian Journalists’ Association. IJAS is also part of the informal Coalition for Media Freedom, whose members include AOM, NDNV, Lokal Press, the Association of Media, the Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation. We are members of the International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ).
Every year, IJAS successfully carries out between 10 and 15 projects, primarily funded by foreign donors, with the European Union being one of the most significant contributors. Since 2001, when we began maintaining online archives, IJAS has effectively executed a total of 286 projects. This impressive track record demonstrates our commitment to promoting the highest standards of journalism and advocating for media freedom.