Focus

Amplify, Verify, Engage

Years active: 2021-present

The Amplify, Verify, Engage: Information for Democratisation and Good Governance in Eurasia project builds on IWPR's previous Norwegian-supported initiatives, including the Giving Voice, Driving Change project. AVE will continue to promote democratic growth, participatory governance, and cross-border cooperation, by strengthening civil society and independent media across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.

Amplify, Verify, Engage (AVE) has three key objectives, through which IWPR will:

Amplify journalists and independent media voices producing verified, evidence-based reporting;
Verify reliable information by strengthening the capacity of civil society and independent media to counter misinformation and disinformation;
Engage civil society, independent media, public officials and the general public to foster increased dialogue and cooperation.

Established in collaboration with and funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the project directly supports Norwegian priorities and values, builds on long-standing Norwegian supported programming in the region, and expands on IWPR’s extensive local and regional networks of independent media and civic groups.

Latest from the project

Nika Gvaramia, editor-in-chief of TV Mtavari Arkhi, was sentenced to three and half years in jail on charges of abuse of power while serving as director of Rustavi 2, an independent broadcaster he ran until 2019. He is shown during a protest held in 2017 in support of Rustavi 2, whose ownership was changed by Georgia's the Supreme Court in 2017. © Courtesy of N Gvaramia

Jailing of Georgian Media Owner Raises Questions on Press Freedom

Nika Gvaramia imprisoned for abuse of power in a sentence largely seen as a retaliation for his criticism of the ruling party.

Harvest in Hartagyugh, a village in Armenia's northwestern region of Lori. Over the past five years, food self-sufficiency has been steadily decreasing in the South Caucasus country of three million, due to low yields, uncultivated land and rising fertilisers and fuel prices. © Gayane Sargsyan

Armenian Farmers Brace for a Difficult Year

Geopolitics and lack of long-term vision threaten the country’s food security.

Region's administrative centre, Khorog. © Press Service of the GBAO Administration

Protests Reignite in Tajikistan’s Restive Region

Authorities struggle to contain anger over a citizen’s unexplained death in detention.

Armenia's Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Yerevan. The Ministry has been actively working in recent years to create a foster care institution: child care and protection centers are being liquidated, and with the funds raised, the crisis centers of child care and the number of foster families are increasing, both in the capital and in the regions.

Armenia’s Growing Foster Families

Ministry of labour and social affairs promotes alternative to placing vulnerable young people in orphanages or children’s homes.

In 2014 Ekaterina moved to Kyiv from Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine. Her older sister, Iryna, stayed behind. When Ekaterina had to flee Ukraine's capital due to shelling Iryna did not believe her accounts about Russians bombing against civilians. © Piotr Garciu

The Sisters Torn Apart by Russia’s Invasion

While some Ukrainians flee shelling and occupation, those living beyond Russian lines do not believe civilians are being targeted.

Azerbaijani journalist Ayten Mammadova was assaulted in the building where she lives in the capital Baku, an threatened at knifepoint by an unknown man who warned against reporting over an ongoing trial.

Azerbaijani Journalist Threatened Over High-Profile Trial

Rights organisations maintain that systematic lack of action in investigating such crimes serves to empower perpetrators.

Transnistria Cancels May 9 Parade Over Mysterious Explosions

A series of blasts in Moldova’s separatist region have heightened fears of regional destabilisation.

Ukraine Crisis Imperils Abkhazia

Experts believe that Moscow is now aiming to divert resources, given the heavy costs of its ongoing invasion.

Turkmenistan's authorities have introduced severe restrictions on women's appearance, banning beauty practices like dyed hair, manicure and fake nails and eyelashes. Since April, women are also no longer allowed to sit in the front seat of taxis and male drivers are barred from offering rides to women who are not family members. © Igor Sasin/AFP via Getty Images

Turkmenistan: Car and Beauty Bans Further Erode Women’s Rights

Fresh prohibitions have crushed hopes that newly appointed 40-year-old president Serdar Berdymukhamedov would pursue a more enlightened path.

IWPR ACADEMY

Newsrooms Countering Disinformation

IWPR film and online course available in seven languages is supporting young journalists across the Eastern Partnership region and Central Asia to detect and combat disinformation in their daily work.

Related Social Media pages

The Amplify, Verify, Engage (AVE) project builds on IWPR's previous Norwegian-supported initiatives, including the Giving Voice, Driving Change project. AVE will continue to promote democratic growth, participatory governance, and cross-border cooperation, by strengthening civil society and independent media across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.