Embassies & Cultural Institutes

Why are cultural institutes important

Cultural institutes such as the Goethe-Institut, Institut Français, Cervantes, and British Council increasingly act as important “interface actors” in the media support landscape being a place that journalists can interact with development and political actors.

Cultural institutes can (and often do) complement the work of EU delegations and the embassies of member states by bringing trusted local networks, flexible small-grant capacity, and a visible European presence on the ground.

While their primary mandate is cultural diplomacy, they contribute to strengthening the media sector in several ways:

Neutral convening spaces: Institutes provide safe venues for dialogue, training, and peer-to-peer exchange between journalists, civil society, and donors, often shielding partners from political exposure.

Capacity-building and mentoring: Many institutes run programmes on digital literacy, fact-checking, and organisational resilience, helping local outlets build skills in compliance, management, and sustainability.

Co-funding and pooled mechanisms: Cultural institutes can channel bilateral resources into EU Delegation-led pooled funds, reducing duplication and easing the administrative burden on smaller media partners.

Peer exchanges: They often sponsor professional exchanges between European and local journalists, fostering knowledge transfer and long-term partnerships. For example, the Goethe-Institut has co-funded journalist residencies in the Balkans, while the British Council has supported media literacy campaigns in Eastern Europe.

Caution in visibility: Best practice emphasises that institutes should avoid showcasing grantees purely as public diplomacy “flagships,” which can undermine independence or safety in sensitive contexts.

The role of cultural institutes is maximised when they work in coordination with EU Delegations to maximise coherence and avoid duplication.

Embassies and cultural institutes can play a larger role

Coordinate closely with EU Delegations to align funding pipelines, share intelligence on local contexts, and reduce duplication of efforts. National initiatives should reinforce, not compete with, EU-level programmes.

Use embassies and cultural institutes to channel complementary resources into pooled funding mechanisms, ensuring that bilateral support strengthens collective impact and reduces administrative burden on partners.

Support local capacity-building by providing mentorship, training, and technical assistance in areas such as compliance, financial management, and organisational resilience.

Facilitate safe convening spaces for media actors, civil society, and donors to exchange knowledge, share resources, and strengthen peer networks.

Promote peer-to-peer exchanges between local media leaders and European counterparts, fostering learning partnerships and sustainable collaboration.

Don't forget to budget for coordination time and indirect costs of local organisations, recognising that meaningful participation in donor initiatives requires resources.

Do no harm

The consultations and interviews conducted to produce this toolkit produced a number of recommendations on how embassies can act more effectively and mitigate potential harm to local actors.

These included:

Don’t use grantees primarily as flagship showcases for public diplomacy in sensitive environments, as this may compromise their safety or independence.

Don’t launch isolated, small-scale national programmes that operate without coordination with EU Delegations or that impose competing priorities on local actors.

Don’t impose editorial agendas, visibility requirements, or branding obligations that risk undermining media organisations’ credibility or neutrality.

Don’t rely on one-off short-term initiatives that create temporary visibility but leave no lasting institutional benefit.

Don’t commission glossy reports or events that serve national branding but provide little actionable insight for local media resilience.

Best practice

Interviewees put forward to following examples and suggestions of best practice for embassies:

Establish local donor compacts or memoranda of understanding among embassies, Delegations, and other partners to formalise coordination, burden-sharing, and joint risk assessments.

Leverage cultural institutes as neutral conveners, hosting off-the-record dialogues and collaborative initiatives that protect participants while fostering cooperation.

Use trust funds or pooled mechanisms managed jointly with EU Delegations to channel small grants in ways that are efficient, less burdensome, and accessible to local actors.

Produce short, practical learning notes after each grant or programme cycle, summarising lessons and sharing them with EU institutions and other donors.

Invest in regional or thematic partnerships (e.g. safety networks, journalist unions, or training hubs) that connect local actors to sustainable support structures.

Recognise and respect the dual accountability of media organisations — to their audiences and staff, as well as to their funders — by designing programmes that reinforce editorial independence and operational sustainability.