The center for defending freedom of journalists (CDFJ) was established in 1998 as a civil non-profit organization in Jordan.

Vision:
Professional Journalists committed to the international standards of independent and free media and an environment that protects freedom of press and expression and enhances the society right in knowledge and censorship .

Seeking to achieve the following objectives:
•  To defend the freedom and safety of journalists.
•  To protect them from violations.
•  To improve their skills
•  To empower their access to information
•  To increase their participation in defending human rights and democracy
•  To contribute to the amendment and development the legislations related to freedom of media.
•  To open channels of communication among journalist in the Arab region and world wide.
Since its establishment the center was apt to address needed issues that have not been tackled by the donors community or by any other local civil society  organization. The donors focused mainly on tracing and monitoring violations that occur to freedom of press and journalism , as well as issuing report statement without facing the actual problems of media and journalism. While civil society organizations operate under the broad umbrella of “Human Rights” with no attempt to become specialized in one field.

On the other hand ,CDFJ aims at providing legal advice to journalists victims of human rights of violation , filing lawsuits on behalf of victim journalists; legally representing defendants or initiating litigation monitoring and documenting information that concerns legal and judicial rulings that address journalists and media issues and filing suits contesting that legality of unconstitutional legislation with the aim of bringing national legislations into line with international conventions to which Jordan  is a signatory.

The center aims also at professional development training to Jordanian and Arab media professionals in the areas of learning new techniques in media , increase knowledge on developments with electronic media and digital media. The center is particularly interested initializing the Internet and Information technology  to serve as a  vehicle for free expression  and human rights protection in the country and throughout the Arab World. The organization also attempts the establishment  of a journalists and media rights library containing legal research on human rights and other information concerning legal rights, in particular through a series of publications and sizable and manuals.
CDFJ  also carries out training programs for  journalists and media professionals in the Arab world on issues of professionalism , ethics and adaptation of worldwide standards observing human rights and free expression.

Location, Equipment and Offices :
CDFJ is based in the city of Amman –Jordan operating from a flat with an area of 300 m3
The center operates a 4 large hall rooms, equipped with one training / meeting room LAN network  computer comprising of 11 PCs connected to two printers , a scanner and a database server in addition  to two portable computer to be used in outside training. The center also has an access center for journalists. The Internet connection at the center is a 128 kb.