World Press Freedom Day 2018

Media Under Fire: What Are the New Challenges to Press Freedom 27 Years After the Windhoek Declaration?

This plenary will discuss the current challenges to press freedom and freedom of expression, including freedom of artistic expression. 25 years after the first edition of World Press Freedom Day, press freedom is not an established fact, but a goal that constantly needs to be fought for. UNESCO’s report on World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development has shown that even in countries where freedom of expression is constitutionally guaranteed, political developments and power shifts have been trending towards a clampdown on press freedom. New challenges, related to political developments, technological advances and national security concerns, require advocates of press freedom to constantly battle for its preservation and further enhancement. The recent trend of rising criticism of the media by political figures encourages self-censorship and undermines the media’s credibility. The recent rise in verbal attacks on the media by political figures has encouraged self-censorship and undermined the media’s credibility. Self-censorship is also a result of misogyny and sexual harassment targeting women journalists. While there is a trend towards greater access to information, partly due to technology, repression of free speech remains a crucial problem in many countries. This comes at a time of unprecedented business challenges for news media around the world, weakening the ability to maintain editorial independence.

The world over, freedom of expression needs to be defended on many fronts: political attacks against the media, the issue of freedom of expression online and physical attacks against journalists are only some examples. Furthermore, an ever-changing political environment and developing media landscape also require the development of adequate legal structures and laws strengthening freedom of expression.

This plenary will thus offer an occasion to scrutinize the situation of press freedom in 2018: Where are we concerning freedom of expression globally? What are the most pressing current challenges? How can freedom of expression be upheld and defended in 2018?

Digital Media and Journalists’ Safety – Chair: Professor Audrey Gadzekpo

Welcome Remarks by H.E. Mr Lionel Strenghart Veer, Ambassador of the Netherlands to UNESCO

• Digital safety for journalists in the age of ubiquitous surveillance: Insights from newsrooms in Zimbabwe and South Africa – Admire Mare

• The growing online threats to journalists in Europe –  Aline Ostling and Raphael Kies

• The state of technology in global newsrooms – ICFJ

• The shrinking space on the internet for citizen journalists in China – Doriane Lau

Non-State Actors and Journalists' Safety - Chair: Professor Jackie Harrison

Right to Information: How Can Freedom of Information Laws Contribute to Sustainable Development in Africa?

Flourishing Societies and the Role of Press Freedom

An independent press is the lifeblood of healthy, inclusive societies. But in an era when media freedom is under assault, it is vital that all segments of our global community understand the value of a high quality, sustainable media and open information systems.  Drawing on Project Syndicate’s list of high-profile contributors, this session will demonstrate and discuss the importance of vigorous, independent media and the free flow of information to the functioning and sustainability of society. It will feature a diverse range of presenters representing the fields of development, economics, gender, youth empowerment, the sciences, and the arts who will discuss their views on the role of media in human progress and how we can contend with the current challenges facing media freedom around the world.

Gender, Sexuality, Religion, Conflict and Other Sensitive Issues, Chair: Professor Kwame Karikari

• Covering sexual and gender minorities & religion in sub Saharan Africa: A Reporting Guide for Journalists – Brian Pellot
• Freedom of expression in a time of conflict: prosecution of journalists in coverage of the Russian-Ukranian conflict –  Bakhtiyor Avezdjanov  
• Russia’s deadliest newspaper: Challenges, threats and protective mechanisms – Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova
• Symptoms of PTSD in frontline journalists: A retrospective examination of 18 years of war and conflict –  Anthony Feinstein

National Mechanisms for the Safety of Journalists in Africa

What are the main safety challenges for journalists in Africa?

• What has been the impact of national initiatives for the safety of journalists on the Continent? 
• Exchange good practices (eg. With participants of UNESCO’s regional conference in East Africa and representative(s) of the African Union)
• How can these initiatives be scaled up and institutionalized in a way that ensures multi-stakeholder participation? 
• How can the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists in Africa be reinforced? 
• Outcome-based session responding to questions such as:
  -What could specific mechanisms look like?
  -How to involve the essential stakeholders?

Propaganda, lies, disinformation and fake factory stories are threats against the credibility of media

Ensuring the Rule of Law and fighting impunity: What role for the judiciary in enhancing freedom of expression in Africa?

The objective is to bring together key figures from the judicial institutions of the continent and civil society organizations, to exchange experiences on strengthening the capacities of the judiciary to promote freedom of expression and the safety of journalists. It is especially important to involve the judiciary in the process of enhancing freedom of expression and protecting journalists, as it constitutes a fundamental freedom. This session will aim to facilitate regional capacity building and foster a cooperation between national and regional courts to promote freedom of expression and fight impunity for crimes against journalists. UNESCO’s previous training of judges in Latin America and Africa, through the combination of a MOOC and an on-the ground training, and its scope of expansion in francophone African countries will be an important reference point for discussion and potential plans of action to reinforce capacities of members of the judiciary and civil society. The session will also focus on promoting efforts to better integrate regional standards on freedom of expression, the right to access to public information and safety of journalists through legal training modules across the continent. The agenda of the session will also include a multi-stakeholder approach in raising awareness on the role of the judiciary in enhancing freedom of expression and effectively communicating on the role and the decisions taken by the African Court on Human & People’s Rights and the ECOWAS Court of Justice to the citizenry at large.

The session will specifically seek to address the following questions:

1.       What is the role of the judiciary in ensuring the rule of law, fighting impunity and enhancing freedom of expression in Africa?

2.       How can the African legal framework on human rights be strengthened and the decisions of the courts on freedom of expression be applied by judges at the national level?

3.       What initiatives can be launched to reinforce the capacities and awareness of multiple stakeholders (including judicial officers, civil society members, lawyers, law enforcement personnel etc.) on issues of freedom of expression and journalists’ safety?

Sexual and Gender-based Harassment in the Media Industry 

Changing the Gaze: Repositioning Africa through Press Photography and Videography

Visual narratives of “Africa” have conventionally represented the continent as a singular place in negative terms. Lack of diversity is a serious problem in visual journalism, both in terms of who produces the stories and the types of stories produced. The perspectives of indigenous visual journalists have too often been unheard or marginalized when it comes to representing “Africa.” Today, however, a new group of African visual journalists and storytellers are challenging the established narratives. This panel discussion will address these issues by presenting the work of four visual journalists from different countries in Africa, consider how they challenge the conventional narrative, discuss the state of visual journalism in Africa, and review the growing number of local and international initiatives to elevate the voices of visual journalists from Africa. The discussion will be moderated by World Press Photo Foundation Managing Director Lars Boering.

Promoting Journalists’ Safety and Countering Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists in Africa

• What are some of the key threats to journalists in Africa today?
• What have been some of the most innovative, effective and impactful ways of promoting journalists safety in Africa?
• How has the emergence and activities if fundamentalists groups impacted the safety of journalists in Africa 
• What are the gendered aspects of safety of journalists? Do female journalists have peculiar challenges when it comes of safety of journalists in Africa?
• Are there any new or emerging threats?
• Going forward, what should stakeholders do to improve the conditions of journalists’ safety in Africa? 
• What specific action points are we recommending to key stakeholders to improve the safety of journalists?

Adoption of the Accra Declaration