A European growth investment firm has donated one million euros to a Lithuanian fund supporting independent investigative journalism, in one of the largest single contributions to press freedom infrastructure in the region.
Sprints Foundation, the charitable arm of the pan-European investor Sprints, said the gift was intended to strengthen the long-term capacity of the Lithuanian Investigative Journalism Support and Charity Fund, which finances the Pamatai (Foundations) investigative journalism award.
"Investigative journalism helps ensure the accountability of government institutions and strengthens an open society," said Henrik Persson, managing partner at Sprints. "We are pleased to contribute to an initiative that strengthens transparency, trust, and democratic values."
The fund's total capital now stands at 4.1 million euros, drawn from 105 individual donors and 12 organisations. The award itself is financed from the fund's investment returns.
This year's Pamatai prize of 200,000 euros was awarded to journalists Andrius Tapinas and Šarūnas Černiauskas for an investigative series called "Sureikšminkim" ("Let's Make it a Big Deal"), produced by the investigative journalism centre Siena and the broadcaster Laisvės TV.
