Our Governance Model
The governance structure of the International Fund has been designed for the unique task of effectively and transparently leveraging public and private pooled funding to foster a paradigm shift in how public interest media is resourced, with the goal of ensuring that it is independent, inclusive, and resilient.
The International Fund has two governance bodies: a Board of independent experts, and a Council of public and private actors (including civil society). This model allows the International Fund – as an international organization and multistakeholder fund – to retain the independence and flexibility required in order to effectively and transparently finance independent media while developing sustainable long-term solutions to the grave threats those media face.
The Secretariat, led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), manages the day to day functioning of the Fund including the strategy approved by the Board.
The Council
17 voting representatives of governments, foundations and the private sector.
Responsible for ensuring financial resources are safeguarded and for monitoring performance of the Fund.
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The Board
Flexible in size with members who are experts in journalism, multilateralism, fund management and resource mobilization.
Responsible for strategic direction and overseeing impact and performance of the International Fund’s work.
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The Council
Government and Private Sector Champions from Across Global South and Global North
The Council includes up to 17 voting representatives of the membership of the International Fund – governments, international organizations, and private sector entities that have provided financial or political support for the Fund and its mission. It is responsible for ensuring that financial resources are safeguarded and for evaluating the overall performance of the International Fund against its mandate. The Council does not oversee or approve any Grants or other financing. The 17 seats are organized as shown below.
Observers
Global Forum for Media Development
(GFMD)
Arcom
UNESCO
The Board
Diverse, Global Expertise
The Board of the International Fund is composed of individuals with deep expertise and experience in areas relevant to the Board’s responsibilities and the International Fund’s mission, including journalism, multilateralism, fund management, and resource mobilization. The Board is responsible for setting the strategy of the International Fund, overseeing impact and performance, and ensuring that funding decisions are made independently.
Board Members
Maria Ressa
Nobel laureate Maria Ressa is the co-founder and CEO of Rappler, the digital news site in the Philippines known for its hard-hitting investigative journalism. As a journalist in Asia for more than 35 years, Ms. Ressa has also worked as CNN’s bureau chief in Manila and Jakarta. She has endured political harassment and arrests, and been forced to post bail ten times to continue her work.
In 2021, Ms. Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, alongside Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, in recognition of her efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. She has received a number of other international awards and recognitions for her work, including being named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2018, for her work on disinformation. In 2021, the jury awarding Ms. Ressa the Unesco/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize noted, “Maria Ressa’s unerring fight for freedom of expression is an example for many journalists around the world. Her case is emblematic of global trends that represent a real threat to press freedom, and therefore to democracy.”
Ms. Ressa is also the author of several books: How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future (2022), From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism (2013), and Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda's Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia (2003).
Partnering for Accountability and Transparency
Through a clear division of responsibilities between the Council, Board, and Secretariat, this model safeguards donors from any perception that they are interfering in the media markets of other countries. It shields recipient media organizations from accusations that their editorial integrity has been compromised. And it maximizes the ability of all stakeholders to participate in deploying a multilateral response to this crisis, providing a fresh solution to sustain independent journalism as well as a model for a new, public–private, Global North–Global South partnership that is essential to addressing increasingly complex global challenges.