Part of the Faces of Free Expression exhibit in Pittsburgh / Matt Petras Read Annie Game’s remarks at the launch of a unique WPFD exhibit, and listen to a special Africa Brief podcast marking 30 years since the landmark Windhoek Declaration.
To mark
International Free Expression Project on an exhibit that spotlights selected illustrations from our
Faces of Free Expression series. The images and text fill the street-level windows of the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette building, and can be viewed in-person or online, from 3 May to 4 July.
Photo by Daria Locher, International Free Expression Project
IFEX’s Executive Director Annie Game’s opening remarks from the Faces of Free Expression exhibit launch appear below.
Graphic Online
BY: Kweku Zurek
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Representatives of the world media have converged on Windhoek, Namibia, to commemorate this year s World Press Freedom Day (WPFD).
This year’s commemoration marks the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, developed by African journalists who pressed for a free, independent and pluralistic African press at a seminar organised by the UN and UNESCO in Windhoek in 1991.
The declaration also triggered the proclamation of May 3 as World Press Freedom Day by the UN General Assembly.
As part of WPFD commemoration globally, a five-day global conference, which opened last Wednesday, will be climaxed on May 3 with an awards ceremony.
IFJ 30 April 2021
IFJ at World Press Freedom Day in Namibia
Information as a public good is the subject of World Press Freedom Day, held in Windhoek, Namibia, 30 years after the Windhoek Declaration (3 May 1991). It remains a seminal event for the development of a free, independent and pluralistic press. World Press Freedom Day has its origins in the UNESCO conference in Windhoek. Below you will find the programme with the participation of the IFJ and its regions.
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Regional Forums
The global conference is connecting with the regional World Press Freedom Day celebrations, building upon the historic series of regional seminars triggered by the 1991 Seminar in Windhoek, which inspired regional declarations to promote a free, independent, and pluralistic press, in meetings held in Alma-Ata (1992), Santiago (1994), Sana’a (1996), and Sofia (1997).
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.
Friday, 30 April 2021, 6:29 pm
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday named
investigative journalist and media executive Maria Ressa of
the Philippines as the recipient of its 2021 press freedom
award.
For over three decades, Ms. Ressa has
been involved in many initiatives to promote press freedom
and currently manages the online outlet, Rappler. Her work
however, also made her
a target for attacks and abuse, UNESCO – the UN agency
tasked with defending press freedom – said in a news
release.
Ms. Ressa was chosen for the
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize following
the recommendation of an international jury of media