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Catalyst of Change

Catalyst of Change

Supporting a vibrant civil society in Europe

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Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND)

hnd.hr
Call 2
Anti-Corruption
Croatia

The Croatian Journalists' Association is an independent professional organisation founded in 1910 and the oldest journalists’ association in Croatia. It brings together more than 1,500 journalists and media professionals to protect media freedom and human rights, promote ethical standards and advocate journalism as a public good. The Association implements this project with the Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo and the House of Human Rights Zagreb, organisations that work to promote democratic values, pluralistic society, the rule of law and human rights.

About the Project

There is no hiding, a network of CSOs to strengthen transparency and joint action against corruption

This project is motivated by the silencing of critical voices and hidden corruption in Croatia, caused by weak state transparency and extensive SLAPPs against journalists and civil society. It aims to prevent corruption by exposing it through access to information and by creating public pressure without fear of being SLAPPed. HND’s goal is to actively contribute to strengthening access to information rules and Anti-SLAPP protections through advocacy and coalition building. To this end, HND, in collaboration with partners, has built a civil society coalition, secured participation in an official public participation working group, delivered collaborative open data workshops, and produced a joint strategy with 12 organisations. Next steps include collecting SLAPP case studies to support an advocacy campaign, publicly presenting the strategic action plan, and continuing meetings and workshops with coalition members.

Publications

A key output was the Rapid Response Action Plan, a model of mutual support,
collaboratively developed with other organisations.

Examples of joint actions carried out under the Rapid Response Action Plan include:

  • A round table on SLAPPs, organised with Zelena akcija shortly before the EU Anti-SLAPP Directive deadline, which united various stakeholders to address the disproportionate targeting of environmental organisations and the media by SLAPPs.
  • Joint contributions to the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report and the Liberties Rule of Law Report.
  • A policy brief on the cooperation model in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo, capturing lessons learned and recommendations for civil society organisations building public-interest coalitions.
  • Recommendations for establishing a comprehensive and effective anti-SLAPP framework in Croatia, developed in collaboration with Centre for Democracy and Law Miko Tripalo and Human Rights House Zagreb. These were later implemented in the European Anti-SLAPP Monitor.

Communication Outputs

Media Coverage

HND gained a lot of national media coverage, especially when they advocated to be included in the Ministry of Justice public participation working group:

HND also actively called out journalist threats and undemocratic remarks by the Prime Minister:

HND additionally supported journalists in smaller local media, in overcoming restrictions on access to information imposed by public authorities. Advocacy helped bring these cases wider attention, emphasising access to information and public meetings is essential for reporting in the public interest:

Social Media

HND’s Facebook, where project activities can be followed.

Funded by the European Union

name

Catalyst of Change: Protecting the Union values by supporting a resilient, engaged and vocal civil society for the promotion of women’s rights, environmental justice and anti-corruption

partner

European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting (ECNL)

duration

1 January 2023- 31 December 2026

budget

3,411.982 EUR

Rights-Based Justice

Human Rights Defence

Integrity and Accountability