World Press Freedom Day

Today, May 3, marks World Press Freedom day. The theme for this year’s

celebration is, “Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms - This

Is Your Right!”The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to

be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day to raise awareness

of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of

their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression

enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human

Rights and marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a

statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper

journalists in 1991.

UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day by conferring the

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on a deserving

individual, organization or institution that has made an outstanding

contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere

in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of

danger.

Created in 1997, the prize is awarded on the recommendation of an

independent jury of 14 news professionals. Names are submitted by

regional and international non-governmental organizations working for

press freedom, and by UNESCO member states.

The Prize is named in honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian

journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his

newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá, on 17 December 1986. Cano's

writings had offended Colombia's powerful drug barons.

Media freedom and access to information feed into the wider

development objective of empowering people. Empowerment is a

multi-dimensional social and political process that helps people gain

control over their own lives.

This can only be achieved through access to accurate, fair and

unbiased information, representing a plurality of opinions, and the

means to actively communicate vertically and horizontally, thereby

participating in the active life of the community.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right as stated in

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

However, in order to make freedom of expression a reality, there must

be: a legal and regulatory environment that allows for an open and

pluralistic media sector to emerge; a political will to support the

sector and rule of law to protect it; laws ensuring access to

information, especially information in the public domain; and the

necessary media literacy skills among news consumers to critically

analyze and synthesize the information they receive to use it in their

daily lives and to hold the media accountable for its actions.

These elements, along with media professionals adhering to the highest

ethical and professional standards designed by practitioners, serve as

the fundamental infrastructure on which freedom of expression can

prevail. On this basis media serves as a watchdog, civil society

engages with authorities and decision-makers, information flows

through and between communities.

The fuel that drives this engine is information and therefore access

to information is critical. Freedom of information laws, which permit

access to public information are essential, but so are the means by

which information is made available, be it through ICTs or the simple

sharing of documents.

Information can change the way we see the world around us, our place

in it, and how to adjust our lives in order to maximize the benefits

available through our local resources.

Fact driven decision-making can significantly alter our political,

social and economic perspectives. Therefore, open and pluralistic

media are, perhaps, most precious when they simply provide the mirror

for society to see itself.

These moments of reflection are instrumental in defining community

objectives, making course corrections when society or its leaders have

lost touch with each other or gone astray.

The right to access information can be interpreted within the legal

frameworks that support freedom of information as it applies to

information held by public bodies, or in a wider sense to encompass

both access and circulation of information held by other actors, where

it becomes intrinsically linked to freedom of expression.

Freedom of information and the transparency it promotes, has a direct

consequence on fighting corruption, which in turn has a tangible

impact on development.

Former World Bank president James Wolfensohn often identified

government corruption as the primary hindrance to development and an

independent media sector as the number one tool to fight public

corruption.

Ensuring freedom for the media around the world is a priority.

Independent, free and pluralistic media are central to good governance

in democracies that are young and old.

Free media: can ensure transparency, accountability and the rule of

law; promote participation in public and political discourse, and

contribute to the fight against poverty.

An independent media sector draws its power from the community it

serves and in return empowers that community to be full a partner in

the democratic process.

Freedom of information and freedom of expression are the founding

principles for open and informed debate.

New technology will continue to evolve and allow citizens to further

shape their media environments as well as access a plurality of

sources.

The combination of access to information and citizen participation in

media can only contribute to an increased sense of ownership and

empowerment.

Source: Francis Owusu-Ansah, Might FM