At a meeting on Monday 22 February 2016 the Journalismfund.eu board of directors has elected Sylke Gruhnwald as the organisation’s new chairwoman. Gruhnwald is the founding data desk editor at Swiss broadcasting company Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen and previously worked for Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ and The Economist Group. In 2015 she won the European Press Prize’s Innovation Award together with her team members involved in the Migrants Files project, an investigation funded in part by Journalismfund.eu.
Sylke Gruhnwald takes over the presidency from Brigitte Alfter, who chaired Journalismfund.eu during the generation change of the board in the years 2013 to 2016.
History
Journalismfund.eu was founded in Belgium in 1998 as the Fonds Pascal Decroos voor Bijzondere Journalistiek, a non-profit promoting investigative journalism in Flanders, in memory of Flemish journalist Pascal Decroos.
In 2013, after 15 years of continual growth and increased success — among others the start of a programme for European grants — the board felt that it was time to take the organisation to the next level and go European. The organisation officially changed its name to Journalismfund.eu and new people with necessary competences and more international backgrounds were invited to join the board.
Heritage
While building its European future, however, the organisation also made sure to remain true to its heritage. Paul Decroos, Pascal’s father, who had chaired the organisation from its inception, retired to a position of Honorary President and Brigitte Alfter took over as chairperson. Several of Pascal’s friends, who together with his family founded the organisation in 1998, still play an active role in the board today.
The other necessary board functions are fulfilled by Caroline Pauwels and Ton van Lierop (both deputy chairperson), Piet Depuydt (secretary), and Kurt Vandenberghe (treasurer).
A daily board assists Journalismfund.eu’s management in dealing with important day-to-day questions. It consists of Piet Depuydt, Sylke Gruhnwald, Kurt Vandenberghe, Ton van Lierop, Hans Wolters, Managing Director Ides Debruyne and Editor Europe Brigitte Alfter.
