12-05-2009 (Kigali) World Press Freedom Day conference concludes in Kigali
Leaders and representatives of journalists' trade unions, associations and press freedom organizations from eleven countries in Eastern Africa have resolved to carry out an effective and collective campaign against repressive media laws and the culture of impunity against journalists and the media, as well as to collaborate to address working conditions of media professionals in the region to enhance quality and ethical journalism.
12-05-2009 (Kabul) UNESCO and UNAMA: Press freedom must be respected in Afghanistan
World Press Freedom Day was celebrated in Afghanistan to further support the still fragile state of freedom of expression in the country. To mark the day, UNESCO, in close collaboration with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the Afghan government, civil society and journalists, organized a day-long gathering. While acknowledging the efforts made so far in the media sector, the participants called for further efforts to respect press freedom in Afghanistan.
11-05-2009 (New York) UNESCO New York Office commemorates World Press Freedom Day
UNESCO’s New York Office commemorated World Press Freedom Day with a live video broadcast from Doha, Qatar, that featured Staffan de Mistura, Special Representative of UN Secretary-General for Iraq; and Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Opinion and Expression of United Nations.
11-05-2009 (Paris) Director-General awards 2009 World Press Freedom Prize in Doha, Qatar
On Sunday 3 May 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, awarded the 2009 World Press Freedom Prize posthumously to the Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge at a ceremony in Doha, Qatar.
11-05-2009 (Windhoek) Community media conference starts today in Southern Africa
A community media meeting is taking place in Windhoek, Namibia, from 11 to 13 May 2009, to address challenges and issues surrounding community radio in Angola, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
07-05-2009 (Paris) Memory of the World logo competition: Deadline is close
Last February UNESCO launched an international competition to design a new logo for its Memory of the World Programme. The deadline for submission of proposals is 31 May 2009. The new design should best correspond to the Programme's mandate to preserve the world’s documentary heritage and be in accordance with UNESCO’s branding directives.
07-05-2009 (Kingston) UNESCO celebrates World Press Freedom Day in Jamaica
The UNESCO Kingston Office celebrated World Press Freedom Day 2009 by a public forum under the theme ‘Media and Dialogue’. It was held on 4 May at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston, under the patronage of Marc-Olivier Gendry, Ambassador of France to Jamaica.
06-05-2009 (Paris) UNESCO Future Forum will discuss prospects of knowledge acquisition
The acquisition and sharing of knowledge, key to social and economic development, have been dramatically changed and accelerated by information and communication technologies. To identify the challenges and consequences of this trend, UNESCO is devoting the second session of its Future Forum to the role and impact of ICTs in the knowledge process and to their potential for enhancing education, the sciences and culture.
05-05-2009 (Quito) UNESCO Office in Quito celebrates World Press Freedom Day
Freedom of the press in the Andean countries was the topic of a conference organized by the UNESCO Office in Quito, in cooperation with the Latin American Faculty of Social Science (FLACSO). The conference, which took place on 28 April at FLACSO campus, gathered representatives of the media, governmental bodies, academia and civil society to discuss new threats and opportunities for freedom of the press in Latin America.
04-05-2009 (Doha) International media professionals adopt Doha Declaration on the Potential of Media: Dialogue, Mutual Understanding and Reconciliation
Some 250 media professionals from around the world adopted a declaration emphasizing the importance of media in communicating across cultural differences at the close of a two-day international conference entitled “Potential of Media: Dialogue, Mutual Understanding and Reconciliation” in Doha (Qatar).
04-05-2009 (Paris) Director-General condemns murder of Colombian journalist José Everardo Aguilar
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the brutal killing of Colombian journalist José Everardo Aguilar in the south western town of Patia, 450 kilometres south of the capital Bogotá, on 24 April.
04-05-2009 (Ramallah) Finland helps UNESCO strengthen safety of journalists in Gaza
A UNESCO Flash Appeal project has received the funding of US$ 130,000 from Finland to strengthen the safety of journalists and press freedom in the Gaza Strip. In addition, Finland has provided US$ 530,000 for a two-year project in the Palestinian territory to increase awareness on the right to freedom of expression and access to information, to create a support network for media professionals, and to provide capacity building and career development for women journalists.
27-04-2009 (New Delhi) UNESCO convenes an expert meeting to assess media development in Member States
During one of its last meetings the Intergovernmental Council of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) stressed the need for a standardized framework for assessing media development levels in UNESCO Member States. In this context, professionals working in the area of media development were called upon to identify and put together a core set of indicators.
24-04-2009 (Geneva) ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum ends today in Lisbon
The ITU World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF 2009) is taking place from 22 to 24 April in Lisbon, Portugal, setting the course for the future development and growth of information and communication technologies (ICT). WTPF 2009 focuses on key policy issues driving the current ICT environment, which will guide future regulatory and standardization efforts worldwide.
23-04-2009 (Paris) World Press Freedom Day 2009: Dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation
The way the media influences thought and action and its capacity to foster dialogue, understanding and reconciliation will be the focus of discussions at a UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day 2009, to be held in Doha (Qatar) on 2 and 3 May.
23-04-2009 (Beijing) Open Training Platform to become a hub for Cyber Network for Learning Languages
A group of experts invited by UNESCO and the Chinese National Commission met last month in Beijing to discuss the feasibility of establishing a Cyber Network for Learning Languages (CNLL).
22-04-2009 (Paris/Washington DC) UNESCO, U.S. Library of Congress and partners launched World Digital Library
UNESCO and 32 partner institutions yesterday launched the World Digital Library, a web site that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world. The site – located at www.wdl.org – includes manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, prints and photographs. It provides unrestricted public access, free of charge, to this material.
21-04-2009 (Paris) New UNESCO-supported publication maps media education policies
UNESCO joined the UN Alliance of Civilizations to produce – in partnership with the European Commission and Grupo Comunicar - a comprehensive publication Mapping media education policies in the world: visions, programmes and challenges.
17-04-2009 (Paris) Director-General concerned about media crackdown in Fiji
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today voiced grave concern about the suspension of press freedom in Fiji under thirty-day Public Emergency Regulations that came into force on 10 April.
17-04-2009 (Moscow) UNESCO supports Media Literacy at School project in Russia
The contest for the Best School Newspaper served as a launching pad for the project, initiated by the UNESCO Moscow Office, aimed to enhance media literacy and to develop curriculum of media education for secondary schools in Russia.
16-04-2009 (Paris) Power of Peace Network grows
The Power of Peace Network (PPN), a UNESCO-led initiative harnessing the power of the 2.0 web and the energy of young innovators and activists, will gather in Bangkok, Thailand, from 21 to 23 May 2009, to break new ground in creating a culture of peace using information and communication technologies.
14-04-2009 (Paris) Director-General condemns murder of Pakistani journalist Raja Assad Hameed
The Director-General of UNESCO today condemned the killing of Pakistani journalist Raja Assad Hameed at his home in Rawalpindi on 26 March.
14-04-2009 (Addis Ababa) UNESCO continues to support Ethiopian mini-media through training
Students from 10 high school mini-media clubs in Addis Ababa visited Radio Fana FM 98.1 station as part of a weekend training programme held from 28 to 29 March. The two-day event, organized by UNESCO and the Peace, Family and Media Association (PFMA), is part of the programme that seeks to build the capacity of school mini-media in Ethiopia to support development communication among youth.
06-04-2009 (Paris) UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize 2009 to be awarded posthumously to Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge
The late Sri Lankan journalist and editor of the Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was assassinated on 8 January this year, has been named laureate of the 2009 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize. The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today endorsed the choice of the Prize’s jury of 14 professional journalists from all over the world.
01-04-2009 (Paris) UNESCO, Library of Congress and partners launch World Digital Library
UNESCO and 32 partner institutions will launch the World Digital Library, a web site that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world, at UNESCO Headquarters on 21 April. The site will include manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, and prints and photographs. It will provide unrestricted public access, free of charge, to this material.
30-03-2009 (Paris) UNESCO publishes training manual on civic education for media professionals
As part of its efforts to strengthen the capacities of media professionals in developing countries, UNESCO has just published Civic Education for Media Professionals: A Training Manual, which offers essential knowledge on the relationship between media functions and active citizenship.
27-03-2009 (Addis Ababa) UNESCO sponsors school mini-media in Addis Ababa
UNESCO, in collaboration with the Peace, Family and Media Association (PFMA), has sponsored training and equipment for school mini-media clubs from 10 sub-cities in Addis Ababa. Luc Rukinama, UNESCO’s Representative to Ethiopia, handed over 10 tape recorders and radio cassette recorders at a ceremony held at the UNESCO Office in Addis Ababa on 24 March.
25-03-2009 (Paris) Director-General condemns killing of Afghan reporter Jawed Ahmad
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today condemned the killing of Afghan reporter Jawed Ahmad on 10 March in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.
24-03-2009 (Geneva) UN-backed anti-cyber-threat coalition launches headquarters in Malaysia
The headquarters of the global coalition to tackle the world’s most serious cybersecurity threats, backed by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU), was inaugurated in Cyberjaya on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 20 March.
23-03-2009 (Paris) Italy grants further funding to Afghan educational radio and television
Italy continues to give its support to UNESCO for the reconstruction of the Afghan educational radio and television service ERTV. For the last five years the Italian government has been funding the reconstruction project implemented by UNESCO and the Afghan Ministry of Education.
