The Institute now exists as an international network for media development, with not for- profit divisions in Europe, the US and Africa supporting training and capacity-building programs for local journalism, with field programs in more than two dozen countries. Under dictatorships such as Zimbabwe and Uzbekistan, and on-going conflict areas such as Chechnya, IWPR serves a critical role as “electronic samizdat,” supporting local reporters under siege and utilizing new technologies to disseminate their reporting in country, regionally and internationally. In transitional regions, as the Balkans, IWPR has established a network of independent local media organizations to provide journalist training and investigative reporting for the long term. This includes a focus on reporting on war crimes and war crimes tribunals, in The Hague and in the regions. In conflict and post-conflict areas such as Iraq, IWPR operates at the frontline of struggle to professionalize media and civil society, empowering responsible local voices, supporting human rights and development reporting, and contributing to cross-community understanding. In Afghanistan, IWPR has established the country’s first-ever independent news agency to provide balanced indigenous reporting on development, electoral and social issues. In both areas, IWPR provides special focus on empowering women journalists.
