The United Nations and Freedom of the Press:
What more can be done?
In Observance of World Press Freedom Day 2007
3 May 2007
Conference Room 1
10:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Background Information: 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.
Opening Segment: 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
Message from the General Assembly President, (delivered by Vice- President of the General Assembly)
Message from the Secretary-General (delivered by the Under-Secretary-General of Communications and Public Information)
Rudolf Christen, Chairman, Committee on Information
Message from the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), (delivered by Helene-Marie Gosselin, Director, NY Office of UNESCO)
Tuyet Nguyen, President, United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA)
Panel Discussion: 11:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Evelyn Leopold, Chief of Bureau, Reuters, UN Office
Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, Publisher, El Universal, Mexico
Abderrahim Foukara, Chief of Bureau, Al-Jazeera Arabic, for the Americas
Josh Friedman, Director of International Programs, Columbia School of Journalism
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