About the IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the world's largest organisation of journalists.

First established as the Fédération Internationale des Journalistes (FIJ) in 1926 in Paris, it was relaunched as the International Organization of Journalists (IOJ) in 1946 but lost its Western members to the Cold War and re-emerged in its present form in 1952 in Brussels.

Today the Federation represents around 600,000 members in 140 countries.

Read the IFJ Brochure

Read the IOJ letter to the 29th IFJ Congress in Angers, France, in June 2016

The IFJ promotes international action to defend press freedom and social justice through strong, free and independent trade unions of journalists.

The IFJ does not subscribe to any given political viewpoint, but promotes human rights, democracy and pluralism.

The IFJ is opposed to discrimination of all kinds and condemns the use of media as propaganda or to promote intolerance and conflict.

The IFJ believes in freedom of political and cultural expression and defends trade union and other basic human rights.

The IFJ is the organisation that speaks for journalists within the United Nations system and within the international trade union movement.

The IFJ supports journalists and their unions whenever they are fighting for their industrial and professional rights and has established an International Safety Fund to provide humanitarian aid for journalists in need.

IFJ policy is decided by the Congress which meets every three years and work is carried out by the Secretariat based in Brussels under the direction of an elected Executive Committee. The last Congress was held in Angers from 7 to 10 June 2016.