Embassy acknowledged the MFC co-chairmanship and the International Women's Day
Finland is currently serving as co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC). To acknowledge both the co-chairmanship as well as International Women’s Day, the Embassy of Finland recently hosted an iftar dinner for women journalists during Ramadan. The dinner provided a great opportunity to discuss the situation of women journalists in Türkiye as well as broader issues related to media freedom.
What is MFC?
Founded in 2019 on the initiative of the United Kingdom and Canada, the MFC brings together governments, civil society, journalist organisations, individual reporters and legal experts specialised in freedom of expression. By joining, member states commit to a Global Pledge to support media freedom worldwide.
Finland began its two-year co-chairmanship of the MFC on 1 July 2025, initially together with Germany. The United Kingdom joined as the second co-chair on 1 March 2026. The 51‑member coalition works globally to promote media freedom, freedom of expression and the safety of journalists.
For Finland, media freedom is a central pillar of a democratic society and an essential element of comprehensive security. As co-chair, Finland focuses particularly on strengthening the safety of journalists — especially women journalists — and advancing media literacy. The co-chairmanship also enables Finland to continue and expand the media freedom work it actively conducts within international organisations such as the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and UNESCO.
The coalition engages in broad and flexible advocacy in situations where journalists, media outlets or journalist groups are under threat. Its tools include public statements issued in the coalition’s name as well as direct diplomatic outreach by member states’ capitals and embassies. Depending on local conditions, MFC actions may be discreet or deliberately highly visible.
Today, the Media Freedom Coalition consists of 51 member states, and Finland has been a member since the coalition’s establishment in 2019.