In December 1993, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day (also called World Press Day), in order to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press. Its intent was to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
History The date of May 3 was chosen because it marks the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles issued by African newspaper journalists who had gathered in Windhoek, Namibia under the auspices of UNESCO in 1991.
In 2018, a conference sponsored by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was canceled. In 2018, several news organizations joined for an ad campaign. Slain journalists in Kabul were remembered.
Prizes
UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day by conferring the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on a deserving individual, organisation or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger. Created in 1997, the prize is awarded on the recommendation of an independent jury of 14 news professionals. Names are submitted by regional and international non-governmental organisations working for press freedom, and by UNESCO member states.
The Prize is named in honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá, on 17 December 1986. Cano's writings had offended Colombia's powerful drug barons.
UNESCO conference UNESCO also marks World Press Freedom Day each year by bringing together media professionals, press freedom organisations and UN agencies to assess the state of press freedom worldwide and discuss solutions for addressing challenges. Each conference is centred on a theme related to press freedom, including good governance, media coverage of terrorism, impunity and the role of media in post-conflict countries.
List Source: Year City Theme 1998 England London "Press Freedom is a Cornerstone of Human Rights." 1999 Colombia Bogotá "Turbulent Eras: Generational Perspectives on Freedom of the Press." 2000 Switzerland Genève "Reporting the News in a Dangerous World: The Role of the Media in conflict settlement, Reconciliation and peace-building." 2001 Namibia Windhoek "Combating racism and promoting diversity: the role of free press." 2002 Philippines Manila "Covering the War on Global Terrorism." 2003 Jamaica Kingston "The Media and Armed Conflict." 2004 Serbia Belgrade "Who decides how much information?". 2005 Senegal Dakar "Media and Good Governance". 2006 Sri Lanka Colombo "The media as drivers of change." 2007 Colombia Medellín "The United Nations and the freedom of press." 2008 Mozambique Maputo "Celebrating the fundamental principles of press freedom." 2009 Qatar Doha "Dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation." 2010 Australia Brisbane "Freedom of information: the right to know". 2011 United States Washington, D.C. "21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers". 2012 Tunisia Tunis "New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies" 2013 Costa Rica San José "Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of Expression in All Media". 2014 France Paris "Media Freedom for a Better Future: Shaping the post-2015 Development Agenda". 2015 Latvia Riga "Let Journalism Thrive! Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality, & Media Safety in the Digital Age". 2016 Finland Helsinki "Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms". 2017 Indonesia Jakarta "Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media's role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies". 2018 Ghana Accra "Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law". 2019 Ethiopia Addis Ababa "Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections In Times of Disinformation". 2020 Netherlands The Hague "Journalism without Fear or Favour". 2021 Namibia Windhoek "Information as a Public Good" 2022 Uruguay Punta Del Este "Journalism under Digital Siege". 2023 United States New York City "Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights".2024Chile, Santiago de Chile"A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis".2025Belgium, Brussels"Reporting in the Brave New World: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media".2026Zambia, Lusaka"Shaping a Future at Peace: Promoting Press Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security".
See also Article 19, an international organisation International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists Investigative journalism Media transparency Reporters Without Borders World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
References
Notes
Sources
External links
UN World Press Freedom Day UNESCO World Press Freedom Day