📍Bonn, Germany
📆 9–10 December 2025
This December, Bonn will host the fome Symposium 2025, under the theme “Beyond Dependency: Rethinking Support for Public Interest Media”. The event is organised by DW Akademie and Fondation Hirondelle in collaboration with the global media-development network CDAC Network.
Why it matters
Independent, public-interest media globally face mounting challenges: shrinking funding from traditional donors, growing political and economic pressure, and an unstable global information environment. The Symposium aims to critically re-examine long-standing support models and investigate sustainable, future-oriented alternatives — including diversified financing, private philanthropy, pooled funding models, and cross-sector collaboration.
What to expect
The agenda includes panel discussions, breakout sessions and interactive workshops exploring:
- The fragility of traditional donor-based funding for public interest journalism, especially after major cuts like the recent dismantling of a major funder in the USA.
- New revenue models: philanthropic, private-sector investment, local revenue generation, or pooled funding.
- Practical case studies: independent media outlets from crisis-affected or resource-scarce regions sharing real-world experiences navigating donor dependence, instability and funding gaps.
- Data-driven mapping of global media funding flows and strategies to build transparency and resilience in media financing.
- Coalition-building and collaborations among media organisations, humanitarian actors and civil society — emphasising cross-sector alliances to strengthen media viability and information integrity worldwide.
Broader context
Given rising threats to press freedom, disinformation, and shrinking resources for independent media, especially in crisis and conflict zones, the Symposium’s timing is crucial. Its call to “go beyond dependency” reflects a growing consensus: traditional aid-based media support may no longer suffice in a rapidly changing media landscape. fomE Symposium 2025 hopes to ignite new ideas and concrete paths toward a more sustainable, resilient future for public-interest media.
See the program and read more:
fome Symposium 2025
