World Press Freedom Day

How do you work safely as a reporter when violent crime gangs control your patch? That’s the challenge facing Haitian print and radio journalist Jean Daniel Sénat, who explains that he and his colleagues are “constantly under threat” from criminal groups. The UNESCO’s Observatory of Killed Journalists points to 14 media workers killed in Haiti since 2021. Sometimes the danger comes from an unexpected source: the police, who suspect some journalists of working for gangs as they are able to enter gang-controlled neighbourhoods, Jean Daniel alleges.  Read the UN News story here

“This is a very risky profession,” Haitian journalist Oberde H. Charles tells us. Many colleagues have left the country, he explains, driven out by the violence that has threatened them and their families. “Those journalists who continue to work in Haiti despite the dangers are brave, truly brave,” he says.  Here's what press freedom means to Oberde; Read the UN News story .

On May 6, 2025. From 17:00 – 18:30; A parallel event entitled ''Media Viability, Visibility and Vigilance in the Age of Big Tech." Organizers: OSCE , FID Venue: Swiss Embassy, Pl. du Luxembourg 1, 1050 Brussels Contact: Julia Haas

On May 6, 2025; From 16:00 – 17:30; A parallel event entitled: "Supporting Journalism under Severe Political Pressure: The Challenges and Opportunities. Organizer: OSCE Venue: Le Poste, Place du Jeu de Balle 62, 1000 Brussels Contact: Aidar Botagarov

On May 6, 2025; From 14:30 – 16:30; A parallel event entitled ''Stop killing of journalists in the world's deadliest war zones." Organizer: International Federation of Journalists . Venue: Résidence Palace (Polak Room) Register here . Contact: IFJ .

On May 6, 2025; From 14:00 - 17:30; A parallel event entitled '' Disinformation: impact and challenges in a fast changing world." Organizer: Flanders Chancellery and Foreign Office Venue: Flemish Parliament More information here

On May 5, 2025 from 12:30 - 13:45; a Parallel event entitled ''Crackdown on Press Freedom Amidst Global Autocracy.'' Organizer: Committee to Protect Journalists Venue: Press Club Brussels | Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Bruxelles, Belgium Register here Contact: Gypsy Guillén Kaiser

    On May 5, 2025; From 9:30 – 11:30; Roundtable on gender and intersectional approaches to the safety of Journalists. Organizers: Article 19 , Global Affairs Canada , Media Freedom Rapid Response , Association of European Journalists Belgium . Venue: Embassy of Canada, Av. des Arts 58, 1000 Brussels. Register here

SPEAK FREELY, LISTEN RESPECTFULLY,DIFFERENT OPINIONS MATTER. Difference Day saw the light in 2015, ten years ago. Difference Day 2025 is celebrating its first decennium with a festive edition that will take place at Bozar on Friday 2 May 2025 - a day before the World Press Freedom Day. The theme of the event is 'Speak Freely, Listen Respectfully, Different Opinions Matter': the general heading under which Difference Day first took the stage. Difference Day always takes place on World Press Freedom Day, which was declared by the United Nations in 1993 to raise awareness of the importance of press freedom and remind governments to respect their duty to uphold the right to freedom of expression. In 2025, Difference Day therefore continues to honour people, institutions and organisations that make a difference in propagating and promoting freedom of expression, but without absolutising it. Register to participate!

May 6, 2025 - From 16:30 – 18:00; Parallel event entitled ''AI and Information Integrity: Governance approaches to promote trust and innovation." Organizers: UNESCO Liaison office in Brussels , OECD . Venue: Square Brussels Convention Center  , The Arc Auditorium, 3rd floor. Contact: Lucas Novaes . Link to register here

May 6, 2025 - From 13:30 – 15:30; Parallel event entitled "Gen-AI and media self-regulation in Southeast Europe." Organizer: UNESCO Southeast Europe Antenna Office , Reporters without Borders , Journalism Trust Initiative . Venue: Square Brussels Convention Center . Registration - closed event- Contact: Joshua Massarenti

May 6, 2025 - From 17:00 – 19:00; Parallel event entitled ''Artificial intelligence and journalism - How media are covering and using AI in Latin America." Organizers: Asociación de Entidades Periodísticas Argentinas (ADEPA) , Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) , International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) , Momentum – Journalism and Tech Task Force and UNESCO Montevideo Office | Interpretation: English, Spanish Venue: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, rue de Taciturne 38 Contact: Rosa Maria Gonzalez Link to register here Link to programme in English and Spanish

Venue – Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile . Organized by IFEX | BiblioGAM Moderator: Ms. Rachael Kay, IFEX, Canada. Workshop on ''Exploring the Power of Collaboration for a Sustainable Environment and Information Ecosystem.'

  *All times are in Eastern Time (ET). AM LIVE SESSION: 30th Anniversary of World Press Freedom Day Global Conference PM LIVE SESSION: 30th Anniversary of World Press Freedom Day Global Conference. ABOUT THE DAY:  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. The 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.

  Organized by: International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), Permanent Delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations |  Location: Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations. 10:00-11:30. Journalism on the Move: displaced media workers on the frontline of human rights’ defense

  Within the framework of the Global Conference on World Press Freedom Day 2023 , the UNESCO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Global Freedom of Expression Program of Columbia University and the Society of Correspondents in Latin America and the Caribbean (SOCOLAC) co-organize this event to address, among other key issues, the Model Law on the Safety of Journalists, the safety of women journalists and the presentation of a " Model Protocol for the Intervention and Interaction of Security Forces with Journalists, Communicators and Media ”. Shaping a Future of Rights: Latest Initiatives for the Protection of Journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean . 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Location: MLK Conference Room 527, Riverside Church, Columbia University . Sponsored by: Columbia GFoE, UNESCO Regional Office in Montevideo, SOCOLAC (Society of Correspondents in Latin America and the Caribbean) Speakers: Rosa M. González, UNESCO; Nathalie Castillo, Chile Chamber of Deput...

  On World Press Freedom Day 2023 , join the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom and special guests for the launch of the Report on International Standards related to Blasphemy Laws and Media Freedom. The event is organized together with Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression and co-sponsored by PEN America. The report is authored by Karuna Nundy, member of the High Level Panel, and is the result of close collaboration with leading academic institutions from around the world. It examines national laws r egulating speech that is characterized as ‘blasphemous’ and assesses the compatibility of those laws with media freedom. Reflecting on the right of journalists to operate free from control, censorship and harassment , this Panel will discuss the findings and recommendations of the Report. - 10:45 - 11:55 Panel Discussion VI - Media Freedom in the Face of Blasphemy Laws

  In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 3 May as World Press Freedom Day . This proclamation marked the beginning of substantial progress towards enabling a free press and freedom of expression around the world – with the proliferation of independent media in many countries and the rise of digital technologies enabling the free flow of information online. Three decades have passed, with advancements in the respect for human rights and in related international frameworks. However, media freedom, safety of journalists and freedom of expression are increasingly under attack, which impacts the realization of other human rights. The international community faces multiple crises; conflicts and violence, persistent socio-economic inequalities driving migration, environmental crises and challenges to the health and wellbeing of people all around the world, while disinformation and misinformation online and offline proliferate with serious impact on the institutions...

  The right to freedom of expression and its corollary, the right to access information , allow us to seek, receive and impart information, ideas, concepts and beliefs across borders and cultures. And in this exercise, the media and journalists play an essential role: they help verify and disseminate facts, they create spaces for ideas to be debated and for the voiceless to be heard, and they render complex matters intelligible for the public at large. “Without facts, you can't have truth. Without truth, you can't have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world's existential problems: climate, coronavirus, the battle for truth.” Maria Ressa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, 2021  Through their various platforms, media organizations , journalists and media workers can reach wide audiences, including the most isolated and marginalized communities, and inform them about their fundamental freedoms,...

"Killing the journalist won’t kill the story" That’s the powerful message sent by the SafeBox Network, a FbdnStories project that aims to give a journalistic response to defeat impunity for crimes against #journalists Panelists: Mr. laurent richard , Founder/director of Forbidden Stories and Mr. @GuachireM ,Ciberactivista y periodista 2.0.