Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
This year’s celebrations are happening in the context of Covid-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) has denounced the “massive infodemic” of disinformation and misinformation swirling amidst the COVID-19 pandemic as a driver of the crisis itself. In the current context, dis- and misinformation represent a serious challenge in addressing a viral epidemic or other public health crisis. The outbreak of the pandemic as proven, once again, that press freedom is essential for our societies.
In the framework of the WPFD global celebrations, media in the region are invited to join UNESCO in a global online movement to draw the world's attention to these issues which are essential to the survival of our societies.
Among others, Al Jazeera Media Network department is launching awareness-raising activities for journalists and the wider public to tackle disinformation in this time of crises and discuss the role of journalism in navigating the information disorder.
Moreover, Ms. Anna Paolini, Director, UNESCO Regional Office in Doha and UNESCO Representative in the Arab States of the Gulf and Yemen has discussed the role of journalism in time of Covid-19 pandemic through radio interviews with QBS Radio and Oryx Fm.
We can collectively overcome this difficult times only if we work together, fostering an enabling environment of respect for diversity, mutual understanding and free flow of information for all. That´s why we need professional journalists and media workers helping the society to counter information disorder, diffuse hate speech and support citizens and governments in the region in relying factual and verified information.
That is why in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, UNESCO and its network have made available a series of publications, tools, resources, MooC for all media workers, journalists, volunteers, students to support their daily work. All resources are available at: https://en.unesco.org/covid19
You can share with us your initiatives on social media through the #JournalismUnfiltered
You can follow Al Jazeera Media Institute initiatives at:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AJMInstitute/
https://www.facebook.com/ajelearn
https://www.facebook.com/aljazeerajournalismreview
Twitter:
@AJMInstitute
@AJR_Arabic
@ajelearn
Happy World Press Freedom Day 2020!
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO's General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.