World Press Freedom Day is observed every May 3 to honor the importance of press freedom for journalists around the world. Besides, the United Nations (UN) used the day as a catalyst to look into the press’s freedom to practice their profession. Here is the theme for this year and the history.
The theme is “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for All Other Human Rights.” Freedom of expression in this theme is intended to protect all other human rights. Additionally, the day will be a chance to award the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Award, which recognizes and honors the contributions of journalists, particularly those who risk their lives to inform the public of important information.
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Beginning in 1991, when a group of African journalists appealed at a UNESCO conference held in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city, the day had a long and illustrious history. To lay the groundwork for a free, autonomous, and pluralist press, they came up with the “Windhoek Declaration.” The 26th session of the UNESCO General Conference established this day in 1993 in response to the Windhoek Declaration signatories’ appeal.
The UN General Assembly declared it in December 1993, following the recommendations of the UNESCO General Conference. World Press Freedom Day is now observed annually on May 3rd. (https://daveseminara.com/) UNESCO’s main principle for this commemoration is freedom of the press and expression to enable communication based on mutual understanding, which is the only way to build long-term peace in society.
