[FoME] Kanadische Medien-NRO "IMPACS" gibt auf!

[Christoph Dietz]

Die kanadische NRO IMPACS hat sich in den letzten Jahren durch ihr "Media and Peacebuilding Program" und das "Media Elections Response Centre" sowie ihre praxisorientierten Publikationen im Bereich der internationalen Medienförderung profiliert. In der jetzigen Form wird die Arbeit von IMPACS eingestellt. Die Publikationen sind weiterhin zugänglich unter http://www.impacs.org (Publications & Resources, International).


Statement by IMPACS Board - March 21, 2007

The Board of Directors of IMPACS - Institute for Media Policy and Civil Society - regrets to announce that IMPACS has ceased operations and made a voluntary assignment into bankruptcy effective March 21, 2007. C. Topley & Company Ltd. has been appointed as trustee in bankruptcy and will be administering the affairs of IMPACS for the benefit of its creditors. A meeting of creditors will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 11:00am at the offices of C. Topley & Company Ltd. (Suite 200 - 260 West Esplanade, North Vancouver, BC, V7M 3G7.)

IMPACS is a 10-year-old organization that has played an important role in giving voice to civil society organizations in Canada and abroad. It has been involved in developing and managing challenging civil-society-building projects abroad in such places as Afghanistan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Nepal to name a few. Its domestic work has focused on providing advice and assistance to Canadian charities and other civil-society organizations in support of their communications and advocacy activities.

The Board and management of IMPACS have worked hard over the last several months to keep the enterprise viable and solvent. However, a number of factors have combined to make that goal elusive.

While IMPACS had recently received word of some greatly appreciated new funding for some of its programs by a number of Canadian foundations and new federal funding for one of its international projects, the IMPACS Board has determined that the only responsible course of action available at this time is to plan for an orderly wind-up of IMPACS, assisting in the securing of new work opportunities for the organization's employees and to limit the adverse financial exposure of the organization and its valued creditors.

The experience of IMPACS is, regrettably, not an isolated instance. There are numerous non-governmental organizations and charities in Canada's community non-profit sector that are facing many of the same financial stresses. Chief among them is the lack of what is often called "core-funding,"i.e. revenue sources from operations or grants from governments or foundations that can sustain what is even the modest central management function at the heart of any organization.

In addition to the matter of inadequate core funding, another major challenge has been the ripple effect of cut-backs to federal grants and contributions announced last summer. This has had an adverse effect on the ability of numerous organizations in the non-profit sector to afford the services of the IMPACS Communications Centre, a social-enterprise model, moderate-cost provider of high quality communications services to non-profit and public-sector organizations.

The IMPACS Board is in discussions with its creditors, its foundation funders and other organizations interested in effecting the continuation, one way or another, of many of the valuable services provided by IMPACS to civil society organizations in Canada and abroad.

The Board also wishes to acknowledge and thank IMPACS excellent staff. Their commitment to not only the Institute but to the ideals that it has pursued, has always earned our respect. And we especially want to commend the very important, constructive and valuable role played by Executive Director, Nancy Bennett who, since joining the organization last summer, has worked very hard and creatively to find ways of sustaining the work of IMPACS