Journalists associations
The largest organisation is Հայաստանի ժուռնալիստների միություն (Journalists Union of Armenia - JUA). The Journalists Union of Armenia was founded on 27 March 1959. On 1 June 1978, the Journalists House was opened in Yerevan. The main goals of the JUA are to assist in enhancing pluralism, reform media legislation, and ensure the constitutional right of freedom of expression and media in Armenia. A member of the International Federation of Journalists and the International Confederation of Journalists Unions, the JUA is a creative public organisation, currently uniting 1,520 media people. The JUA mainly deals with social problems of the media professionals, carries out various educational programmes, and participates in the discussions on reforming the media legislation.
Երևանի մամուլի ակումբ (Yerevan Press Club - YPC) was founded in July 1995 and is the first professional association of journalists in Armenia established during the post-communist period. YPC is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that unites journalists, publishers, media leaders and experts, irrespective of their political ideas. Its mission is to support and develop independent and professional media, seeking to help strengthening democratic institutions and establishing civil society in Armenia. Its objectives are: to defend the journalists’ right of freedom of expression and of free access to information; to assist in improving the legislative and the economic base of the media; to promote professional contacts between Armenian and foreign media and individual journalists; to strive for respect and adoption of principles of professional ethics by journalists; to assist in the growth of journalists’ professional skills through various workshops, conferences, trainings, etc.
Internews Media Assistance Organisation, currently the Մեդիա նախաձեռնությունների կենտրոն (Media Initiatives Centre), was also founded in 1995. It provides broad-based assistance to the Armenian broadcast media, has extensive experience working with schoolchildren and students, it promotes the introduction of modern technologies in the information sphere and produces high-quality video and audio products. Throughout their existence, Internews and YPC have cooperated closely and effectively in most priority areas. Since 2003, more than ten public journalistic associations have been established in Armenia, specialising in specific areas of work and seeking to activate professional communities in the regions. Among them are Gyumri Journalists Club Asparez, Investigative Journalists, the Committee to Project Freedom of Expression, Media Diversity Institute-Armenia, Goris and Vanadzor Press Clubs, etc. Most of the journalistic organisations have long-term partnerships and agreed approaches to supporting and developing independent and high-quality media, protecting freedom of speech, information and the rights of journalists, and improving the legislative and economic base of the media.