The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) is "an international association of nonprofit organizations that support, promote and produce investigative journalism."[1] The association is headquartered in the United States, and its membership is open to "nonprofits, NGOs, and educational organizations" that are active in
investigative reporting and
data journalism.[2][non-primary source needed]
The organisation's projects include a help desk to provide investigative journalists with advice and assistance, a resource center with tips, tools, and manuals, and large training conferences that have attracted over 5,000 journalists from 100 countries.[3][non-primary source needed]
History
GIJN was formed in 2003 as a loose network in support of the biennial Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC), which had been launched two years earlier by veteran journalists Brant Houston and Nils Mulvad.[4][5] The GIJN secretariat was officially formed after participants of the 7th GIJC in Kiev voted for the formation of a provisional secretariat in 2013.[6][7][non-primary source needed] The organization registered as a nonprofit corporation in Maryland, United States of America, in 2014 and was approved as a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service in October 2014.[8]Guidestar rated GIJN as 'Gold-level' for transparency of the organization's finances and leadership in 2023.[9]
In late 2023, GIJN was designated as "
undesirable" in Russia.[10]
GIJN co-organizes a biennial Global Investigative Journalism Conference (GIJC), to bring together investigative journalists across the globe to share their knowledge and expertise with each other and to form cross-border networks for collaborative reporting and referrals.[16][17]
The GIJC has been held in Copenhagen in 2001 and 2003,[4] Amsterdam (2005),[18] Toronto (2007),[19] Lillehammer (2008),[20] Geneva (2010),[21] Kiev (2011),[22] Rio de Janeiro (2013),[23] Lillehammer (2015),[24] Johannesburg (2017)[25] and Hamburg (2019). The latest conference was held in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2023.[26] In 2021, owing to the Coronavirus pandemic, the conference was held online only.[27]
Since 2014, GIJN has organized investigative journalism conferences in Asia. The first Asian Investigative Journalism Conference was held in Manila (2014),[28] the second in Kathmandu (2016),[29] and the third in Seoul (2018).[30]
Global Shining Light Award
GIJN gives out Global Shining Light Awards for excellence in investigative reporting "in a developing or transitioning country, done under threat, duress, or in the direst of conditions."[31]