UNESCO Event Brief 2011

1-33y, May, Washing ton DC This Year’s Celebration...

• The major WPFD event 2011 in Washington D.C. was co-organized by UNESCO with the U.S. State Department and over 20 civil society partners. The conference focused on the theme “21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers” and explored the growing role of the internet, the emergence of new media and the rise in social networking in recent years.

• On 4 May UNESCO and UN DPI organized an event in UN HQ marking 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration which laid grounds to WPFD celebrations . In addition to the events planned in Washington, DC, more than 100 countries celebrated World Press Freedom Day with events and commemorations around the world Sponsors DC Overview Washington

• WPFD 2011 took place at the Newseum on May 1-2 and at the National Press Club on May 3.

• Attendees had the opportunity to take part in more than 15 Plenary and Breakout Sessions which will cover topics ranging from “Social Media: The New News Network?” and “New Barriers: Censorship in the Digital Age” to “From Watergate to Wikileaks: The Evolution of Investigative Reporting.”

• Keynote speakers at the event included UNESCO’s DG Irina Bokova, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale, and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also addressed the conference via video message. DC in Photos

*More pictures available for download on the World Press Freedom Day Website NYC Overview

• A special event was planned for 4 May at headquarters in New York to mark the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration. Adopted in 1991 after a conference held in Windhoek () • This anniversary was also celebrated in Windhoek with a regional conference to review the future of the media in . A publication, “20 years after the Windhoek Declaration on Press Freedom”, analyzing two decades of media freedom in Africa, was also launched

• The full list of events organized by field offices, NGOS, and private entities can be viewed on the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day website:

• http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/flagship- project-activities/world-press-freedom-day/homepage/

• www.wpfd2-11.org Events around the World Field Offices Programmes on the occasion of WPFD Day 2011

• UNESCO Abuja Office • UNESCO Phnom Pen h Office • UNESCO Addis Ababa Office • UNESCO Quito Office • UNESCO Almaty Office • UNESCO Rabat Office • UNESCO Amman Office • UNESCO Ramallah Office • UNESCO Baghdad Office • UNESCO San Jose/Mexico • UNESCO Bangkok Office • UNESCO Santiago Office • UNESCO Cairo Office • UNESCO Office • UNESCO Tashkent Office • UNESCO Islamabad Office • UNESCO UK Office • UNESCO Jakarta Office • UNESCO Windh oe k Offi ce • UNESCO Kathmandu Office • United Nations • UNESCO Kingston Office Office of the High Commissioner • UNESCO Maputo Office Other Programmes • UNESCO Moldova Office • MISA in Southern Africa • UNESCO Nairobi Office • IFEX for WPFD 2011 • UNESCO HQ • Rural Media Network Pakistan Examples of Events Baghdad Tunis "21st Century Media for building democracy “ WPFD Conference at the Oil Cultural Center Centre Culturel El Menzah Introduction: Iraqi Bloggers Union ▫ A day-long conference was held on May 3, Roundtable 1: New Media 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.at the ▫ How to promote internet and social networks Cultural Center El Menzah in Tunis with 3 as a platform for democratic discu ssion and civic participation round table discussions ▫ How to empower bloggers and individual users ▫ New Media, new Forms of Expression, in content production and meaningful Journalism, and Participation; participation to enrich citizen’s access to information and exchange of ideas ▫ A Legggyp;al and Regulatory Perspective ; Roundtable 2: Media Law and Freedom of ▫ New Barriers: Online Blocking, Censorship, Expression Surveillance, Safety of Journalists and ▫ What are the legal and human rights implications on freedom of expression that the Bloggers new media presents – what do we want to see happen in Iraq? ▫ A historical overview of Freedom of Expression Islamabad in Iraq Online Journalism and Gender Program on WPFD 2011 Additional Activities: • On this occasion UNESCO Islamabad • Blogger Hub: Wireless forum open to the lhdit“OliJliPlaunched its “Online Journalism Program ”t” at public. Iraq’s most well-known bloggers will go live Fatimah Jinnah Women's University - the only to the region and the world; they will train guests on woman’s university in the country - on 3rd May the professional use of new media tools 2011. This course will be taught to the • Photojournalism and Editorial Cartoon exhibition • Film Screen ing, “My Coun try ” : Pro duce d by Al journalism students as a means of enhancing Mada Cultural Institution their voice and opinion through active- participation journalistic scenarios. Guillermo/Cano Prize • 2011 WPFD Prize Laureate is imprisoned Iranian journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi. He was selected by an independent international jury of 12 media professionals.

• Ahmad Zeidabadi is currently serving a six-year jail sentence following Iran’s disputed presidential election in 2009. WhiWashington Dec larat ion Adopte d

• OOnn MayMay 3 2011,2011, WorldWorld PressPress FreedomFreedom DayDay paparticipantsrticipants adopted tthehe WashingtonWashington Declaration. (Excerpts Below) We, the participants at the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference in Washingg,ton DC, 1-3 May 2011: Call on UNESCO Member States: To recognize and ensure that the same principles of freedom of expression apply equally to the Internet and other new information technologies, as they apply to traditional forms of media; To use fully the potential of the Internet and digital media while fully respecting civil liberties, including the rights of freedom of expression and privacy; Call on Professional Associations, Media Outlets and Industry: To recognize that professional journalistic values and practices must be applied to information distributed via social networks and other emerging forms of media; Ca ll on UNESCO : To encourage the production of quality content, and to foster media literacy as a necessary skill in the new, more complex information environment, including through its promotion at different levels of educational and training systems; Access/Press Coverage

• IFEX: WPFD 2011 Wednesday, May 4, 2011 • Press Statement - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton • UN Radio Interview with UNESCO ADG Janis Karklins • More than 800 Call for Freedom for Journalists during World Press Freedom Day 2011 Commemorations in Washington, DC • IFJ Press Relase - Press Freedom in Africa in 2010 • A Conversation with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova for WPFD 2011 • Press Release - UNESCO World Press Freedom Day in Iraq • May 2, 2011 - Exploring New Media's Frontiers and Challenges • Press Release - Nepal Celebrates World Press Freedom Day on 3 May • May 3, 2011 - KATHMANDU WPFD PRESS RELEASE • April 29, 2011 - Joint Press Release by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) • WAN-IFRA - Still Time to Commemorate World Press Freedom Day • April 28, 2011 - Article by Larry Kilman, Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs, World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). • IFEX unveils special website for World Press Freedom Day • April 27, 2011 - The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Launches New Website for WPFD 2011. Link to article • La Presse de Tunisie Announces WPFD Events in North Africa • Newspapers World -Wide to Commemorate World Press Freedom Day • UNESCO & WAN-IFRA support WJEC Media Freedom Link-up 2011 • April 4, 2011 - Article by Prof. Guy Berger, School of Journalism & Media Studies, South Africa.