Maghreb countries celebrate World Press Freedom Day
This year's celebration of the World Press Freedom Day for the Maghreb region will take place in Nouakchott, Mauritania, under the theme "Freedom of Information and the Right to Know: What future for the Maghreb countries?". The event will bring together governmental representatives, civil society and the news media to promote the importance of freedom of information as the universal right to access public information and records.
The celebration is organized in partnership with the Mauritanian Union of Journalists, the Network of Women Journalists, the National Commission of Mauritania for UNESCO, the Mauritanian Ministry of Communication and the World Bank. It will provide an occasion to raise awareness about the importance of the public's right to know and be informed for furthering transparency, democracy and development.
Through a series of round tables, participants will identify obstacles in the exercise of freedom of information and discuss the role of media as a platform for democratic discourse. The event will be associated with the launch of <a href="ev.php?URL_ID=29032&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201">Story-Based Inquiry: A Manual for Investigative Journalists</a>, produced by UNESCO and the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ). This Manual provides basic methods and techniques in investigative journalism, filling a gap in the literature of the profession.
The celebration of the Day will end up with the announcement of the winner of the sub-regional competition of articles on the theme of the Day. <a target=_blank href="http://rabat.unesco.org/concours/spip.php?rubrique1">Articles submitted by Maghreb journalists</a> on the current situation and challenges of the freedom of information in their countries were evaluated by a high level panel of journalists and are now published on the website of UNESCO's Rabat Office.
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