Focus

Amplify, Verify, Engage

The Amplify, Verify, Engage project promotes democratic growth, participatory governance, and cross-border cooperation, by strengthening civil society and independent media across Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus.

Years active: 2021-2023

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

Armenia Questions CSTO Role

The military alliance’s intervention in the Kazak crisis came in stark contrast to its inaction over Karabakh.

A message appeared on several Ukrainian government websites on January 13 as part of a massive cyber attack. It reads in part: "Ukrainians! All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst. This is for your past, present and future."

Cyberattacks Undermine Ukraine’s Security

Analysts highlight key weakness in hybrid war, alongside military build-ups and disinformation.

Rubbish pile up on the side of the village’s muddy, unpaved streets. Residents complain that when it is dry, the roads are dusty and when it rains, they are muddy. Taxi drivers are unwilling to take passengers here. © CABAR

Photo Essay

Kazak Villages Struggle with Poverty

In Nur-Sultan, glitzy shopping malls and swanky hotels mirror Kazakstan's vast natural resources. In the outskirts, villages with no running water and basic services tell a different story of poverty and inequality.

Ukrainian volunteers in a training camp organised by Ukrainian Legion, a body which organises military training for the civilian population. © Ukrainian Legion

Ukraine Rolls Out Mass Recruitment for Volunteer Army

Officials expect a 130,000-strong force to be assembled within weeks.

The impoverished village of Prigorodny lies 10 kilometres from the shiny centre of Kazakstan's capital Nur-Sultan. The country's deep inequality has driven the most serious unrest the oil-rich Central Asian nation faced in decades. © CABAR

Kazakstan: Economically Successful, Socially Unequal

Vast natural resources have made a select few rich while millions of Kazaks struggle to make ends meet.

Calls from the scientific community for pregnant women to get vaccinated have increased in recent months. © Arteida MjESHTRI/Unsplash

Armenia: Vaccine Reluctance Prevails Among Pregnant Women

Resistance continues despite studies showing the jab shields both expectant mothers and their babies.

Hasan has been living and studying in Georgia since 2013. After marrying a local, he decided to stay and apply for a residency permit in 2019 only to be denied. Since then, he has been involved in a three year long appeal process to overturn the decision. © Hasan

Georgia: Are Migrants a Threat to Society?

Citizens from the Middle East, Africa and Asia say that they are being routinely discriminated against when applying for residency.

Cranes tower the Caspian Sea shore in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. The government in the oil-rich nation increased the costs of gas and electricity twice in 2021, but experts warn that there is no economic justification for the price hikes. © IWPR / Monica Ellena

Azerbaijan: Soaring Energy Prices Fuel Discontent

State blames increasing cost on global market, while analysts see exploitation and corruption at fault.

President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev giving a speech in the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Kazakstan Crisis

What Next for Kazakstan?

Leadership promises economic reforms – but does not stint on criticism of elite.

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 - from the Borderland to the Steppes 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.