World Press Freedom Day

This year's World Press Freedom Day aims to explore AI's impact on press freedom and the right to freedom of expression , as well as addressing the continued relevance of Information as a Public Good as in the Windhoek+30 Declaration of 2021 ,which has been endorsed with unanimity by UNESCO General Conference. The media landscape has changed significantly since the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed World Press Freedom Day in 1993. The unprecedented use and development of Artificial Intelligence systems are playing a transformative role in journalism and the media, and on press freedom.While the principles of free, independent, and pluralistic media remain crucial, AI's impact on information gathering, processing, and dissemination is profound, presenting both innovative opportunities and profound challenges. AI offers the potential to enhance freedom of expression by democratizing access to information, empowering global communication, and changing the realit...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the fundamental right to seek, impart and receive information , as well as the journalistic profession . It enhances access to information and processing of it , enabling journalists to handle and process vast amounts of data efficiently and create content more effectively. AI tools can improve fact-checking, data visualization, local and multi-platform adaptation of news content and its translation, streamlining the journalistic process and making information more engaging and accessible. AI also presents risks . It can be used to reproduce misinformation , spread disinformation , amplify online hate speech, and enable ne w forms of censorship . Some actors use AI for mass surveillance of journalists and citizens , creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression. Private platforms increasingly use AI to filter, moderate, and curate content, becoming gatekeepers of information.There's a growing concern that AI might contribute to...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both opportunities and challenges for women journalists. AI can support victims of gender-based violence by streamlining reporting tools and enhancing fairness in digital spaces. These advancements could reduce barriers to reporting abuse and enable faster responses. AI also amplifies existing risks for women journalists in the digital landscape . The UN Commission on the Status of Women has identified technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) as a critical global issue, particularly affecting women in public-facing roles like journalism. AI systems can generate deep-fakes, doctored images, and mis/disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting or intimidating women journalists. These AI-driven attacks jeopardize their safety but also have a chilling effect on their work, potentially limiting public access to information .

AI offers media outlets tools to increase efficiency through task automation, helping newsrooms meet growing demands and remain competitive. However, the financial sustainability of media is becoming more fragile as generative AI platforms repurpose journalistic content without proper compensation, diverting revenue from independent outlets to digital platforms and to AI actors. Among the issues being discussed is fair remuneration for content used by AI systems , with copyright enforcement mechanisms and fair revenue-sharing models. Media outlets are facing how to balance AI use with maintaining good practices and audience trust and engagement . Many have issued codes of conduct stressing respect for audience data, content authenticity, AI use disclosure, transparency, and information integrity.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)  is increasingly influencing the integrity of elections , offering tools for fact-checking and combating disinformation while empowering journalists and voters to promote informed democratic participation . However, it poses risks, as generative AI enables the creation of misleading content like deep-fakes, undermining trust in democratic institutions . Addressing these challenges requires collaboration among governments, media, and civil society.

Panel discussion Organized by Defensoria de Público and UNESCO | Room N2 - Daniel Zalazar, Centro de Producción Intercultural de Aluminé, Argentina - Ms. Renata Machado, Radio Yandé, Brazil - Ms. María Dolores Euseda Cabrera, Radio Dignidad, Honduras - Ms. Myriam Vargas Teutle, Human rights defender, Mexico - Ms. Leyla Noriega, Radio Ayni, Chile Moderator: Ms. Miriam Lewin, Defensora del Público de Argentina

UNESCO report reveals 70% of environmental journalists have been attacked for their work. A new report published on World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, warns of increasing violence against, and intimidation of journalists reporting on the environment and climate disruption . At least 749 journalists or news media reporting on environmental issues have been attacked in the last 15 years, and online disinformation has surged dramatically in this period. UNESCO is calling for stronger support for environmental journalists and better governance of digital platforms. its new report Press and Planet in Danger , UNESCO analysis revealed instances in which at least 749 journalists and news media outlets reporting on environmental issues were targeted with murder, physical violence, detention and arrest, online harassment or legal attacks in the period 2009-2023. More than 300 attacks occurred between 2019-2023 – a 42% increase on the preceding five-year period (2014-2018). The report, which wil...

This event is part of the World Press Freedom Day Conference 2024 . Carsten von Nahmen, DW Akademie, Germany, will be moderating a debate that will count with the participation of H.E. Amb. Simona Mirela Miculescu, President of the General Conference of UNESCO , H.E. Amb. Dennis Francis, President, United Nations General Assembly (video message), H.E. Amb. Omar Zniber, President, Human Rights Council (video message) and H.E. Amb. Paula Narváez Ojeda, President, United Nations Economic and Social Council . Unity in Action : Unveiling a Joint Declaration by Presidents of UN Bodies.

Panel discussion Organized by by DW Akademie | Room A2 Panelists! Ms. Patricia Mayorga, Periodistas de a Pie, Mexico Mr. Swapneel Mehta, MIT, India Ms. Marcela Tobar Ríos, IDEA, Chile Ms. Gwen Lister, Namibia Media Institute, Namibia Moderator: Mr. Carsten von Nahmen, DW Akademie, Germany

 World Press Freedom Day Conference 2024  at the Plenary room - Video message from Mr. Sebastião Salgado, Social documentary photographer - Keynote remarks by Ms. Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of Rappler, Philippines Ms. Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of Rappler, Philippines. - Mr. Fredrick Mugira, Founder Water Journalist Africa, Uganda. - Ms. Minna-Liina Lind, Deputy Foreign Minister for Global Affairs and Co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition, Estonia - Mr. Gael García Bernal, Actor, producer and environmental activist Moderated by Ms. Paloma Ávila Barrera, Director of CNN Futuro, Chile.

7:30 - 9:00 - Registration Accreditation will also be available at the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (GAM) on Thursday, May 2, between 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 9:00 - 10:05 - Opening ceremony at the Plenary Room. Master of Ceremony: Ms. Leonor Varela, actress, Chile. Opening Video: The Important Stuff , presented by Alana, UNESCO, and UNICEF - Welcome remarks by Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO - Keynote address by Mr. Gael García Bernal, Actor, producer and environmental activist; and Ms.  - Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. - Welcome remarks by Mr. Gabriel Boric, President of the Republic of Chile

From 3 to 4 May at the The Holistic Safety Clinic. Come get one-on-one consultation from experts on digital safety, physical safety, and psychosocial wellbeing. The consultations can be related to specific incidents or done as a proactive measure. This clinic is organized by IREX. Come see us at our table and sign up for sessions! (location at GAM will be provided).

On May 2nd, from 20:00 – 22:00, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Award Ceremony 2024 will be held.  UNESCO/ Guillermo Cano Award Ceremony at Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Santiago and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (upon official invitation).  The ceremony will be livestreamed. Watch it here .

As part of UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day 2023 , an academic conference will take place at Columbia University in New York on 1 May 2023 as a hybrid event. The academic conference focuses on freedom of expression as a driver for other human rights, linking to UNESCO’s overall theme for World Press Freedom Day 2023. Academia has played an important role in World Press Freedom Day by hosting an academic conference that provides a forum to hear from scholars who research constraints on media freedom in all their complexity. As this is the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, the first part of this year’s academic conference will provide an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate academia’s contributions to better understanding the challenges of journalism safety and media freedom , as well as looking ahead at how it can contribute to these pressing issues in a future where freedom of expression is being threatened around the world. This interactive workshop will provide an opp...

  The Tow Center for Digital Journalism and Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF) will share key findings from their recently launched research titled Weaponizing the Law: Attacks on Media Freedom. The research is a first-of-its-kind report that draws on the insights of media law experts and journalists from around the world to provide a global overview of these sweeping threats to a free press. The presentation of the report by Joel Simon, Founding Director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, will be followed by a high-level discussion with leading media defence experts, researchers and media freedom experts to be moderated by Antonio Zappulla, CEO of TRF, that will focus on identifying future research and data collection needed to map in more detail the scale, nature and geographic reach of these threats and how they impact journalists and the media ecosystem. This ongoing exploration of global trends will be critical to enab...

  Protecting Freedom of Expression through Comparative Global Case Law: Databases to Advance Rights . Location: Satow Room, Lerner Hall, Columbia University. Sponsored by: Columbia GFoE and UNESCO. Speakers: Catalina Botero, Columbia GFoE; Hawley Johnson, Columbia GFoE; Juan Manuel Ospina, Columbia GFoE; Daniel Ospina Celis, Dejusticia; Nelly Chepngetich Rotich, Strathmore University, Natalie Alkiviadou, Future of Free Speech; Alberto Godioli, University of Groningen; Laura Little, Temple University Law School; Raisa Carrillo, Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa; Stephen Townley, Trial Watch, Clooney Foundation for Justice. 9:00 - 10:20 AM. Panel Discussion V - Protecting Freedom of Expression through Comparative Global Case Law, Databases to Advance Rights

  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

Organized by: UNESCO, the Global Network Initiative , the Action Coalition for Meaningful Transparency , the Global Forum for Media Development , Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN, and Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media in the digital Age .  Roundtable on access to data, safety of journalists and media viability. - 14:30 - 15:00. Stoy UNESCO and Japan collaborate to expand efforts for Ukrainian media and journalists . Read the OSCE full report on " Safety of Journalists in Conflicts situation. ". For more information, contact: ipdc.secretariat@unesco.org

  The WSJ. Magazine celebrates eight trailblazing talents at its annual Innovator Awards. Watch each honoree's inspiring story.* Organized by: Wall Street Journal . Location: This panel will be streamed on the wsj.com homepage.

Fault Lines investigates the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by Israeli military forces. Organized by: Columbia School of Journalism, Al Jazeera Faultlines, United Nations Department of Global Communications | Location: Headquarters of the United Nations,