Launched on 1st July 2022, the Council of Europe project "Promoting media professionalism and freedom of information in Azerbaijan" (PRO-M-FEX) aims to contribute to improving the media and information landscape in Azerbaijan. This will be achieved by strengthening national legislation and its implementation, as well as enhancing media professionalism. The project is funded through voluntary contributions from donors within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Azerbaijan 2022-2025 and will be implemented over a period of 36 months. The total budget for the project is EUR 875,540.

To accomplish this objective, the project supports the implementation of activities that address the need for legislative and institutional reforms. It will also focus on capacity-building for media professionals, as well as legal professionals, including judges, prosecutors, and lawyers.
The project builds upon the achievements of the previous Council of Europe project "Reinforcing gender equality and other ethical standards in Azerbaijani media," which was implemented from 2019 to 2022.

The project activities will be carried out under three main components:

Component 1: Legislative framework aims to provide national stakeholders with tools and legal advice regarding the Council of Europe standards on access to public information. It also promotes and recommends steps to ensure compliance with the Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø, 18.VI.2009, Council of European Treaty Series No. 205), while actively working towards the ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention 108+. These goals will primarily be achieved through raising awareness, enhancing the knowledge of legal professionals about Convention 108+ and EU data protection standards, facilitating network and professional exchanges among equivalent institutions across Europe.

Component 2: Quality and capacity of journalism and media processionals aims to improve and enhance ethical and quality journalism, with a specific focus on conflict-sensitive reporting, media literacy and countering hate speech in the media. This will be accomplished through capacity-building activities for media professionals, as well as formal and informal educational methods. As a result, the key outcomes of this component will include the development of a curriculum on Conflict-Sensitive Journalism to be implemented at journalism faculties in Azerbaijani universities. Additionally, it will aim to increase the knowledge and understanding of online and offline media professionals regarding ethical standards and guidelines for covering topics such as gender, children, conflicts, and political events.

Component 3: Capacity building and awareness raising aims to increase knowledge and awareness of the requirements and standards regarding data protection and privacy, as well as access to public information, including the Convention on Access to Official Documents. It will be achieved through capacity-building and awareness-raising activities targeting media representatives, civil society, and relevant national authorities. The main deliverables of this component will include the development of guidebooks and training programmes.

All activities will be implemented in consultation and co-operation with relevant public authorities, Council of Europe consultants, media professionals and local civil society organisations.