| The United Nations and Freedom of the Press: What more can be done? World Press Freedom Day reminds us all – governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations as well as civil society – of the crucial role a free press plays in strengthening democracies and fostering development around the world. Proclaimed by the General Assembly in 1993, the Day has been observed on 3 May ever since. The United Nations Department of Public Information observance of World Press Freedom Day 2007 is held within the Department’s weekly NGO briefing programme on Wednesday, 3 May, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., in Conference Room 1. The ceremony features messages from the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the Director-General of UNESCO. Rudolf Christen, Chairman of the Committee on Information, and Tuyet Nguyen, President of UNCA, will also participate in the opening segment. Speakers will include Evelyn Leopold (Reuters), Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz (El Universal, Mexico), Laura Trevelyan (BBC), Abderrahim Foukara (Al-Jazeera) and Josh Friedman (Columbia School of Journalism). A panel discussion -- part of the weekly DPI/NGO briefings programme -- on “The United Nations and Freedom of the Press: What more can be done?” will follow. The discussion aims to provide an opportunity for panellists to give an analysis of the way in which the United Nations delivers its message to the press and how that process can be improved, as well as what more the United Nations can do to protect the safety of journalists. The latter is in line with UNESCO’s theme for the day this year: “Press Freedom, Safety of Journalists and Impunity”. |
