PROGRAMME DPI/NGO Relations in cooperation with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] invites you to a Special Briefing in Observance of World Press Freedom Day “21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers” Date: Wednesday, 4 May 2011 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Location: Conference Room 1, North Lawn Building Background Information When African journalists met in the capital of the newly independent state of Namibia in 1991, the social and political excitement that was sweeping much of the world in the wake of the Cold War had spread to the African Continent. Despite the toll taken by the multiple conflicts that ravaged the region in the previous decade, there was a sense of hope, expectation and a strong will among civil society to grasp this moment to craft a new future. The Windhoek Declaration- a statement of press freedom principles-was inspired by the then global move towards democratization and the recognition that an independent, pluralistic and unfettered media was indispensable for the future of every nation aspiring to democracy and social equity. It has been 20 years since this landmark Declaration was produced by mainly newspaper journalists. Whilst there have been important advances for press freedom on the African continent and elsewhere in the world, far too many restrictions continue to exist in the form of censorship, lack of access to public information and harassment, intimidation and outright attacks on journalists, which hinder press freedom and thwart economic and political development in far too many countries. And now, two decades after the historic the Windhoek Declaration, media is once again at the center of a new wave of change. This time however it is citizens and journalists, grasping the new tools of social connectivity and crafting messages from collective voices, clamoring for change and a role in the future of their respective nations. United Nations, DPI/NGO Relations Cluster, Room DC-1 550 Tel: (917) 367-9380 / (212) 963 7709 Fax: (212) 963-6914 E-mail: [email protected] All Briefings begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. and we ask that our audience be seated by 9:45 a.m. sharp. Opening Session Moderator Kiyo Akasaka was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information in 2007. Mr. Akasaka served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development from 2003 to 2007. He was Japan’s Ambassador to the UN from 2000 to 2001; and a bureau member for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. As Deputy Director-General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Multilateral Cooperation Department, Mr. Akasaka was one of Japan’s senior negotiators in the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change. He has also worked with the World Health Organization and the Secretariat of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Introductory Remarks Ban Ki-moon is the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His career encompasses many years of service both in government and on the global stage, including as his country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; postings in New Delhi, Vienna and Washington D.C.; and responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including foreign policy, national security and policy planning. Mr. Ban’s ties with the United Nations date back to 1975, when he worked for the Foreign Ministry’s United Nations division. In 2001-2002, he was Chef-de-Cabinet during the Republic of Korea’s Presidency of the General Assembly. In 1999, he served as Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. Mr. Ban has also been actively involved in promoting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. He holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Seoul National University and a Master's degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Irina Bokova is the first woman to be elected Director-General of UNESCO. She took office on 15 November 2009 and will lead the Organization for the next four years. During her long and distinguished career, she has served in several capacities including Bulgaria's representative to the United Nations, her country’s Secretary of State for European integration, as a member of the Bulgarian Parliament, Foreign Minister, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to France and Monaco, Representative to the "Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie" and as Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. As Founder and Chairperson of the European Policy Forum, Mrs. Bokova worked to overcome divisions in Europe and to promote the values of dialogue, diversity, human dignity and human rights. Born in Sofia, Ms. Bokova holds an MBA from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and has also studied at the universities of Maryland and Harvard in the USA. H.E. Mr. Zahir Tanin serves as a Vice-President of the 65th Session of the General Assembly. He was first appointed Vice-President of the General Assembly during its 63rd Session in 2008. Before his appointment as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Tanin worked for eleven years with the BBC: as a Television Producer from 1995 to 2000; as a Senior Producer from 2000 to 2001; as an editor for the BBC World Service Afghanistan and Central Asia [Persian Section]from 2001-2003; and prior to being assigned as permanent Representative of his country to the United Nations, and as an editor for the BBC Persian/Pashto Section (in Afghanistan) from 2003 to 2006. United Nations, DPI/NGO Relations Cluster, Room DC-1 550 Tel: (917) 367-9380 / (212) 963 7709 Fax: (212) 963-6914 E-mail: [email protected] Ambassador Tanin, a graduate of Kabul Medical University, began his career in 1980 as a working journalist in Kabul. He was Editor-in-Chief of Akhbar-e-Haftah and Sabawoon Magazine until 1992. He co-authored The Communist Regime in Afghanistan, a study of the political and social changes in Afghanistan from 1978 to 1992. He has also produced a landmark 29-part program, The Oral History of Afghanistan in the 20th Century, which was broadcast on the BBC. H.E. Ambassador Eduardo Ulibarri-Bilbao is the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations, and current Chairperson for the Committee on Information. Ambassador Ulibarri has an extensive professional and academic career in communications, journalism, political analysis, freedom of expression, public transparency and governance. He served for two decades as Editor-in- Chief of Costa Rica´s main newspaper. Since 2003 he has devoted most of his time to teaching, consulting, participating on the boards of a number of public and private organizations and writing for leading news media about his country and Latin America. Ambassador Ulibarri was born in Cuba in 1952, moved to Costa Rica in 1966 and became a Costa Rican citizen in 1970. Giampaolo Pioli, the Special United Nations Correspondent for Quotidiano Nazionale, La Nazione, Il Resto del Carlino and Il Giorno, was elected President of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) in 2009. Before his role covering the United Nations, Mr. Pioli served as Special Correspondent for Central America from 1987 – 1992. Mr. Pioli holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Parma. Panel Discussion Moderator Janis Karklins, is the Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information of UNESCO. Before assuming this role, Mr. Kārkliņš served as Latvian Ambassador to France, Andorra, Monaco and UNESCO, as well as the Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations in Geneva, Under- Secretary of State in Latvia as well as Counselor in France and Finland. During his stay in Geneva, he served as the First Vice-Chairman, and year later as Chairman, of the Council of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). He has held several elected positions at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the UN Commission of Science and Technology for Development. He has also presided over the Group of Governmental Experts on Cluster Munitions and served as the Vice-President of the Preparatory Committee of the Geneva Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and as President of the Preparatory Committee of the Tunis Phase of WSIS. Mr. Kārkliņš represented Latvia in the Governmental Advisory Committee of ICANN [The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers] and chaired this Committee from 2007 until June 2010. He holds an Engineering degree from the Riga Technical University in Latvia and attended an Executive Education Programme for Eastern European diplomats at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University in the USA. Opening Remarks H.E. Wilfried I. Emvula is the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia to the United Nations. Mr. Emvula became Regional Councilor for the Walvis Bay Constituency in 1992 and was appointed Deputy Minister in 1993. During his earlier years he was an activist in the town of Walvis Bay, which was a disputed territory, enclaved by South Africa. He was later appointed Ambassador to France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, UNESCO and the FAO in 1999. He also represented Namibia at the United Nations, DPI/NGO Relations Cluster, Room DC-1 550 Tel: (917) 367-9380 / (212) 963 7709 Fax: (212) 963-6914 E-mail: [email protected] Bureau of International Expositions (BIE). In 2006 he was appointed Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Commission for Africa based in Addis Ababa. He also served as a Member of the UNESCO Committee for NEPAD [The New Partnership for Africa's Development]. Ambassador Emvula is a qualified paralegal and holds a Masters Degree in Diplomacy from the University of Westminster in 2004. Thierry Taponier, is the brother of missing journalist Stéphane Taponier.