Media and Philanthropy Initiative: The Media Management Hub partners with the University of Geneva
March 13, 2025
The HEC Montréal Media Management Hub is one of the partners of the Media and Philanthropy Initiative (IMP) which was officially launched on March 12, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland.
The organization of this launch event featured a public conference on the theme “Philanthropy: what alternative funding for the media?”
The IMP was developed in the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy of the University of Geneva, with the aim of studying and encouraging philanthropic engagement in the field of media, in response to the significant financial challenges facing this sector.
The Media Management Hub was approached by the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy to become the first partner in this project. The IMP aims to structure an international network of experts from academic and professional backgrounds capable of establishing criteria for contributing to the common good of philanthropic intervention in the field of media. This think tank and research group will also develop concrete tools and processes, particularly regarding media governance and sustainable financing models.
Sylvain Lafrance and Gilles Marchand at the IMP launch in Geneva.
The IMP will be headed by Gilles Marchand, a well-known figure in Swiss media and former Director General of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SSR).
Sylvain Lafrance, Director of the HEC Montréal Media Management Hub and former Executive Vice-President of Radio-Canada’s French Services, will also play a leading role in this initiative.
“It is with enthusiasm that we agreed to be a stakeholder in the IMP, because the question of media financing in the new digital world is a fundamental issue for the defence of our democracies and cultures. The IMP will chiefly identify innovations and models that will help maintain the media’s ability to represent reality and foster constructive dialogue in an increasingly polarized world.”
The HEC Montréal Media Management Hub has focused on media business models for nearly ten years and will be able to bring a North American perspective to the research and proposals of this initiative.
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