About Fanack
“The heritage of knowledge is more valuable than gold.”
Quote: yahya ibn abi kathir (769 – 848)
In 2010, the Fanack Foundation was founded as a Dutch not-for-profit organisation in the international City of Justice, The Hague, along with the Fanack company. The Foundation aims to promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations and peoples, regardless of their religious affiliations, race or ethnicity. It honours the role and activities of the United Nations, such as maintaining peace and prosperity on behalf of people everywhere.
Fanack promotes the development and distribution of free information on salient issues concerning the Middle East and North Africa for a worldwide audience. All funded content is written from an Arab perspective by independent journalists and academics from the region, respectfully abiding by international law and the directives set out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As an independent online media organization, Fanack is committed to publishing and disseminating balanced and informed analysis about the Middle East and North Africa. Since its establishment in the Netherlands in 2010, Fanack has developed a website presenting extensive information in Arabic and English about history, politics, economics, social issues and culture across the 21 countries that make up the Middle East and North Africa.
The website offers readers access to a series of thematic websites including the Fanack Chronicle of the Middle East & North Africa and specialist’s sites dedicated to water and energy among others.
Today, Fanack.com features more than 5,000 web pages written by over a hundred different specialists and reaching millions of readers annually.
The Chronicle of the Middle East and North Africa
“Knowledge is a matter of knowing facts. Wisdom is a matter of understanding and applying principles. A certain amount of knowledge is necessary for wisdom, and without wisdom, knowledge is not only useless, it’s dangerous.”
Hilda van Stockum (1908 – 2006)
Fanack’s The Chronicle of the Middle East and North Africa is a successful and independent online platform in Arabic and English committed to publishing and disseminating balanced and informed information and analysis of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The Chronicle is an initiative of Dr. Antonie Dake, who decided in 2010 to combine his entrepreneurial work with his long experience in journalism and his fascination by the rich history and cultural heritage of the region. In tune with the digital opportunities, he established The Chronicle to serve the growing need for information about the region, especially among younger people.
The Chronicle platform serves over 5.000 in-depth articles, all in Arabic and English, written by experts who have a strong commitment to the Arab world.
The Chronicle’s articles are written by acclaimed Arab journalists and academics. In order to guarantee impartiality, the articles are published without by-lines. This also allows them to write more freely about sensitive or controversial issues in their country. All articles are fact-checked before publication to ensure that content is accurate, current and unbiased according to good academic and journalistic criteria. International law and the principles and directives set out by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are the benchmark against which content is measured to prevent bias.
The Chronicle targets a broad audience of readers in the region and beyond, with a particular focus on young people. A detailed picture is presented for each country of the history, the population, the economy, the political situation and cultural life. Clear overviews with maps, facts and figures give the reader a good idea of the country in question. Country files from 21 countries are available.
The ‘specials’ provide in-depth information on a variety of cross-border topics, such as music and sports, religion, migration and refugee issues and human rights. Complex and sensitive subjects are explained and analysed in a balanced way.
Fanack.com 10 Years (2010-2021)
History
2010
Founded
Fanack’s The Chronicle of the Middle East and North Africa was founded in 2010 as an independent online platform in Arabic and English committed to publishing and disseminating balanced and informed analysis about the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The Fanack Chronicle grew into an extensive source for information about history, politics, economics, social issues and the state of water and energy resources across the countries in the MENA-region
2010 - 2015
Country File Chronicle
2016 - 2021
MENA Platform
Acclaimed Arab journalists and academics enriched the Chronicle with more in-depth files and current affair articles. Fanack reach grew rapidly towards the current annual unique reach of 20+ million.
What’s in a name?
The name Fanack refers to the Saharan desert fox, the Fennec. This small orange dessert fox is recognisable by its large ears and sharp eyesight, which make it a keen observer of its surroundings – as Fanack aims to be in its analysis of the MENA region.
History
For many, the MENA region may look like a fragmented collection of countries. Fanack, however, has succeeded in presenting this supposed fragmented fabric as a kaleidoscopic aspect of a pluriform region that rightly defines itself as unified, coherent and internally connected through shared histories, religions, languages and mentalities. The Chronicle has clearly recorded, since its launch, this wide range of multi-faceted aspects into a reference tool and a unique overview of the region.
What started as an adventure with the aim of providing readers with reliable and balanced information, The Chronicle developed into a professional and successful organisation that works with a team of dedicated professionals, keen correspondents and trained experts from the region.
The current reach of Fanack.com is about 20+ million users annually. Fanack is currently building future plans to enable continued growth towards an annual global reach of 100+ million.
Future
In 2011, The Chronicle of The Middle East was launched with the mission to offer a modest contribution to the publication of independent and impartial information on the MENA region. Since then, the region has seen many changes and, as a consequence, our coverage of it has changed in both scope and depth.
Ten years later the initial mission seems more relevant than ever before. While news and information is readily available through an ever-increasing number of channels, fake news and alternative facts have made it harder than ever to discern fact from fiction.
Ten years later it also has become apparent that the importance of impartial and fact-checked information is widely felt in the region and around the globe. Readers have become contributors, and competitors have become colleagues sharing our vision.
The Chronicle is now defining a path forward for the next ten years. It aims to expand its role as an institution serving the public interest, with a clear aim to further expand its coverage and to build alliances supporting this purpose. We believe that knowledge matters and facts count. We also believe that going forward our mission will inspire new partners to join The Chronicle of the Middle East on its path to 2030.