Chai Khana

Chai Khana is a multimedia, visually-driven storytelling media outlet. It publishes untold human stories and shares the lives of ordinary people across the South Caucasus.

Chai Khana believes that open access to information through issue-based multimedia information can catalyse positive change, and that investing in young journalists' skills can create positive returns for the media industry, communities, and the South Caucasus.

The media outlet has a very symbolic name: Chai Khana means "tea house". Historically, tea houses have been male-dominated in the Caucasus. It is where men usually gather, socialise, and exchange ideas. Chai Khana, a women-led platform, reclaims this male-dominated space to discuss its own topics and stories. It aims to deconstruct this concept and provide an open space for dialogue for women, queer people, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities, conflict-affected people, and other marginalised groups in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and regions in conflict.

Chai Khana started in 2015 as it found no high-quality visual storytelling. It regularly commissions stories from freelance visual storytellers to give them the space to produce their stories. The media outlet has created a network of documentary filmmakers, photographers, and journalists from all over the South Caucasus.

It trains young professionals through fellowships and training programmes.

Chai Khana also implements special projects, such as hosting exhibitions, film screenings, or printing photo books.

Chai Khana and its reporters have received numerous awards since 2015, including the EU Prize for Journalism, the ADAMI Media Prize for Cultural Diversity, the ICMPD prize on migration, the Joshua Friedman and GIPA prize for the best work in journalism, and the CineDoc awards.

Last updated: March 2024