International Freedom of Expression Exchange - Definition and Overview

The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX), founded in 1992, is a global network of more than 60 Non-governmental organisation that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression. Managed on behalf of its members by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, IFEX acts as a clearing house for exchanging information and monitoring issues such as press freedom, Internet censorship, criminal defamation laws, media concentration and attacks on journalists, writers and human rights defenders. IFEX operates an Action Alert Network, which issues e-mail alerts whenever an IFEX member reports on a free expression violation anywhere in the world. This enables members to mobilise rapid response actions to help save threatened individuals or pressure governments to remove repressive laws. See (www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/63829/) IFEX's trilingual (English, French, Spanish) website (www.ifex.org) contains the largest archive of information on free expression violations on the Internet, dating back to 1995. IFEX also publishes a trilingual weekly e-mail newsletter, the IFEX Communiqué, (www.ifex.org (http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/265)) which reports on the top free expression developments around the world and on the activities of IFEX members. Founding donors include:

• the Ford Foundation
• the Joyce Mertz-Gilmore Foundation of New York
• the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)