Training in Namibia to build capacity of community newspapers
The Namibian newspaper The Caprivi Vision is organizing a series of training workshops on writing, news gathering, reporting, graphic design and marketing in order to reinforce the human capacity of community newspapers.
UNESCO holds session on Gender and ICT at WSIS Forum 2010
The UNESCO interactive session on Gender and ICT is taking place today at the WSIS Forum 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland. Organized in the framework of UNESCO’s commitment to promote women’s empowerment, the session will measure the progress made in gender equality since 2005.
WSIS Forum 2010: Turning Targets into Action - towards 2015
The year of 2010 marks a turning point for assessing the progress made towards WSIS implementation during the past five years and for proposing new strategies to ensure the achievement of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) goals by 2015.
World Press Freedom Day unites Iraqi journalists
A call for a freedom of information law was supported by a chorus of 1000 journalists and media workers when reporters and bloggers from all over Iraq observed World Press Freedom Day in Baghdad on 3 May. A full day of activities centered on an open letter to the government requesting passage of a freedom of information law that would meet international standards and guarantee access to public documents.
Luncheon in New York focuses on information for empowerment
More than 75 United Nations delegates, journalists and representatives of media advocacy groups attended the World Press Freedom Day luncheon programme held at the UN Secretariat on 3 May. In line with the theme of this year, the event focused on the basic role of media, which is information for empowerment.
Conference in Phnom Penh promotes freedom of information in Cambodia
In Phnom Penh, The World Press Freedom Day 2010 was celebrated on 4 May with the one-day conference co-organised by UNESCO and the UN Office for Human Rights. The celebration was held at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and was attended by representatives of the Cambodian media, members of the Cambodian government, donors, NGOs, media students and members of the Cambodian indigenous and Cham communities.
Brazil celebrates approval of Access to Information Law
The theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, Freedom of Information, is especially relevant in Brazil because of the recent approval by the House of Representatives of the General Law of Access to Information. This Law, which regulates access to information within the public administration, represents a great step forward for Brazilian democracy.
South-Asian countries raise awareness about freedom of information
UNESCO’s Office in New Delhi commemorated World Press Freedom Day on 3 May with the South-Asian regional consultation on Freedom of Expression: The Right to Know. The meeting was organized in cooperation with the Department of Information of the Maldives government in Male on 3 and 4 May.
Amman celebrates World Press Freedom Day
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO’s Amman Office is supporting the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) in its efforts to raise awareness on the importance of freedom of information and press freedom in Jordan.
UNESCO celebrates World Press Freedom Day: World governments urged to guarantee freedom of information
More than 300 participants attending UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day Conference in Brisbane (Queensland, Australia), have urged national governments to enact legislation guaranteeing the right of access for all to information held by public bodies at all levels, local, national and international.
UNESCO’s Santiago Office celebrates World Press Freedom Day with series of activities
For the celebration of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, the UNESCO Office in Santiago has launched a new website dedicated to press freedom, entitled "Freedom of Information: The Right to Know in Bicentennial Chile". A series of activities will encourage the debate about freedom of information and gather together representatives of various institutions working in the field.
UNESCO hosts Caribbean Media Conference in Trinidad and Tobago
The Caribbean region commemorates World Press Freedom Day with the annual Media Conference, which is being held on 3 and 4 May in Trinidad and Tobago. About 60 delegates are attending the event to examine media issues from global and regional perspectives.
Eastern Africa commemorates World Press Freedom Day 2010
UNESCO Offices in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi and Bujumbura, together with the United Nations Communication Group in Tanzania and media stakeholders in the East-African region, have organized the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day 2010 in Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanzania.
Frontline journalists gather at Australia’s oldest Journalism School
The challenge for those gathering to mark this year’s UNESCO World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) on May 3 is to go beyond the concept of the right to information, this year’s theme, to tackle the problems of journalists being killed, attacked and intimidated while doing their work.
Workshop on media ethics to celebrate World Press Freedom Day in Swaziland
The UNESCO Windhoek Office in partnership with the Swaziland National Commission for UNESCO and the Swaziland Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) will commemorate World Press Freedom Day in Matsapha, Swaziland, with a ten-day workshop on media ethics.
World Press Freedom Day celebrated in Namibia
This year World Press Freedom Day will be celebrated in Namibia by a conference organized by the Namibia Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), the Polytechnic of Namibia and Genderlinks on 7 May. The event will focus on the access to information and the right to know in Namibia and will particularly highlight women’s right to access information.
World Press Freedom Day celebrated in Lesotho
The Lesotho Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is organizing a debate of the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, Freedom of Information: The Right to Know.
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.
Director-General calls for investigation into death in jail of Cameroun journalist Ngota Ngota Germain
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today voiced grave concern about the death in detention of Ngota Ngota Germain, editor of the weekly Cameroun Express, and asked that a full investigation be conducted into the circumstances of his death.
UNESCO’s Quito Office launches website to celebrate World Press Freedom Day 2010
For the celebration of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, the UNESCO Office in Quito has launched a new website dedicated to press freedom and the right to information in the Andean region. In addition to providing information about all activities organized by the UNESCO Quito Office, the website serves as a clearinghouse for educators and media professionals throughout the region.
Director-General condemns murder of Honduran journalist Jorge Alberto Orellana
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today condemned the murder of Honduran TV producer and presenter Jorge Alberto Orellana. Ms Bokova also voiced alarm at the high toll paid by journalists in the country.
UNESCO highlights freedom of information for World Press Freedom Day
UNESCO will celebrate World Press Freedom Day, observed yearly on 3 May, with an international conference of media professionals entitled Freedom of Information: the Right to Know, in Brisbane (Australia) on 2 and 3 May.
CBC receives UNESCO Award for Science Reporting and Programming 2010
The UNESCO Award for Science Reporting and Programming was presented, at the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) General Conference 2010 in Johannesburg, to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for its radio programme “9 ½ Technologies that Could Change the World”.
Bangladesh government awards licenses for establishing community radios
The government of Bangladesh has awarded licenses to twelve organizations, mostly NGOs, to set up community radio (CR) stations. Two years after the adoption of the Community Radio Policy, the much-awaited establishment of community radios, promised by the government in its election campaign, will change for ever the country’s media landscape.
IPDC-funded workshops on strengthening journalism through ICT begin in Colombia
Within the framework of UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), the UNESCO Office in Quito is supporting the Colombian association of investigative journalists, Consejo de Redacción, in the implementation of a training project on applying information and communication technologies (ICT) to investigative journalism.
UNESCO discusses use of ICT in basic education
An international conference in Brasilia will assess the impacts of the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education in Latin America and the Caribbean. The event will be hosted by UNESCO’s Brasilia and Santiago Offices, and the Department of Distance Education of the Brazilian Ministry of Education from 27 to 28 April 2010.
Director-General condemns murder of Honduran journalist Luis Antonio Chévez Hernández
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova today condemned the murder of Luis Antonio Chévez Hernández, in the city of San Pedro Sula, in Honduras, on 13 April.
Co-creator of UNESCO-supported TV show wins prestigious Rolex Award
Bruktawit Tigabu, co-creator of the popular Ethiopian television show “Tsehai Loves Learning”, has been selected as a winner of Rolex’s Young Laureates Award. Bruktawit was among five outstanding social entrepreneurs who impressed the judging panel with their passion and conviction to overcome challenges facing our planet. UNESCO’s Office in Addis Ababa has been a long-standing supporter of the Ethiopian show.
Communicating on HIV: UNESCO workshop in Almaty
12 participants from NGOs working with people who live with HIV took part in the workshop on communication skills on 14 and 15 April in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The event was jointly organized by UNESCO’s Office in Almaty, the Kazakhstan Union of People Living with HIV and the National AIDS Centre.
Director-General deplores killing of Japanese cameraman and wounding of Thai photographer in Bangkok violence
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, deplored the killing of Japanese journalist Hiroyuki Muramoto, a cameraman for Reuters, and the wounding of freelance photographer Winnai Ditthajorn, who was working for Australia’s ABC News, in Bangkok, Thailand, on 10 April.