The Thomson Reuters Foundation today announces that Aswat Masriya website - news and information platform it established in Egypt – will close due to lack of continued finances.

The website was launched following the 2011 uprising in Egypt, in the run-up to the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

It has since grown into a leading provider of independent news on political, social, cultural and economic issues in Egypt, in both Arabic and English.

With the aim of providing access to reliable information during the democratic process and beyond, it also trained Egyptian journalists on a number of issues, including how to report accurately on the country’s elections.

Extensive efforts by the Thomson Reuters Foundation to find a sustainable source of financing for the platform in Egypt have unfortunately not been successful. The site will therefore cease to operate after March 31.

Aswat Masriya won the trust and readership of hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who relied on the website’s accurate, balanced and high quality coverage of politics, economics, women’s issues and general interest news.

The content was made free for republication, which contributed to its widespread geographic growth and exposure in prominent outlets such as Al-Ahram and Al-Shorouk, New York Times, CNN.

Monique Villa, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation said: “I am extremely proud to have helped launch Aswat Masriya and of what the team of journalists has achieved over the years. I am particularly proud of how the platform has evolved. It has transformed the local media landscape and has created a legacy in Egypt.”

"Since 2015 Aswat Masriya has been registered as an Egyptian company. The Aswat Masriya team have been kept consistently informed of the financial challenges and latest developments. The process has been completely transparent and compliant with Egyptian law.”

“We are doing all we can to explore options for keeping the content of the website available to the general public and I am confident this will happen.”

Since its launch, Aswat Masriya’s team of Egyptian journalists have produced over 80,000 text and multimedia stories.

For media inquiries, please contact: Jenny Vereker, Deputy Director of Communications

Tel:+442075428111

E-mail: jenny.vereker@thomsonreuters.com