Thirty years ago, between April 29 and May 3, 1991, some African journalists converged on Windhoek, Namibia to ponder the role of a free, independent and pluralistic media in the light of the constant pressures and violence faced by media professionals working in Africa at the time.
The conference, titled, ‘Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Media,’ was held at the instance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in partnership with other UN Agencies such as UNDP and with the support of 12 international agencies, ranging from Nordic funders, the International Federation of Journalists, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, and the World Association of Newspapers, among others. Participants were drawn from 38 countries.
On May 3, 1991, African journalists issued the Windhoek Declaration, a document setting out principles committed to a free press. Journalists Gwen Lister and Tabani Moyo discuss the challenges facing African media today.
Gwen Lister on Windhoek Declaration anniversary: I d like to see good journalism triumph
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Namibian journalist Gwen Lister talked to DW about press freedom, disinformation and other challenges facing journalism today.
Namibian journalist and Chairperson of the Namibia Media Trust (NMT) Gwen Lister is one of the original signatories of the Windhoek Declaration in 1991. Speaking to DW, she said that in spite of many advances in press freedom over the past three decades, disinformation on social media and a continued lack of government transparency pose major challenges for journalism.
Lister said that the Internet era brought about what we hoped would be an era of democratization and free expression. But obviously there have been a lot of problems as well, such as disinformation.
Share
The 2021 World Press Freedom Day Global Conference, hosted by UNESCO and the Government of Namibia, will be held on 29 April – 3 May in Windhoek. The event will bring leading minds of the world of journalism, media and technology as well as experts, policy makers, and activists, to affirm information is a public good and discuss how to support independent journalism and local news media.
Among first announced interventions are:
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and
Miranda Johnson,
The Economist’s Deputy Executive Editor, will engage in a dialogue on the role of information as a public good.
Seema Mustafa, senior award-winning journalist and founder of
The Citizen, India s first independent online newspaper . Mustafa is the president of India s Editor s Guild.
Rod Sims, Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Under his direction, the ACCC published a study that found internet companies benefitted from Australian news content without being able to seek appropriate compensation.
About the Conference
The five-day conference will comprise over 40 sessions and plenaries including three thematic ones discussing current issues on media viability, the transparency of online platforms, and strengthening media and information literacy capacities. [Register now here]
Read all what you need in our FAQ.