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Communication and Mass Media
World Radio Day celebrates radio as part of humanity’s history throughout our society’s developments while adapting its services. As the world changes, so does radio. Thus, during the COVID-19 pandemic, radio made it possible, for example, to ensure continuity of learning, to fight against misinformation, and to promote barrier gestures. "New World, New Radio" is, therefore, an ode to the resilience of radio. For this year’s observance, UNESCO calls on radio stations to celebrate the 10th anniversary and the more than 110 years of radio highlighting its evolution, innovation, and connection.
This 13 February, join UNESCO and thousands of stations to celebrate World Radio Day. "NEW WORLD, NEW RADIO" is the theme of this 10th edition.
Watch our masterclasses, learn with top creators and storytelling professionals, and submit your own content!
The annual UN International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East is being held virtually this year on 8 December [10:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m. EST] and 9 December [10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EST]. Watch live.
While most urban areas are covered by a mobile-broadband network, worrying gaps in internet access persist in rural areas, according to ITU’s Measuring Digital Development: Facts and figures 2020. Connectivity gaps in rural areas are particularly pronounced in least developed countries (LDCs), where 17 per cent of the rural population live in areas with no mobile coverage at all, and 19 per cent of the rural population is covered by only a 2G network. 72 per cent of households in urban areas has access to the Internet at home, almost twice as much as in rural areas.
ITU introduces Guidelines on Child Online Protection with their mascot Sango to support children online for a safe and positive digital experience.
Television continues to be the single largest source of video consumption. Though screen sizes have changed, and people create, post, stream and consume content on different platforms, the number of households with television sets continues to rise. The interaction between emerging and traditional forms of broadcast creates a great opportunity to raise awareness about the important issues facing our communities and our planet. On World Television Day (21 November) explore the suite of multimedia products and services covering the work of the UN at Headquarters and in the field.
Trafficking, abuse of power, human rights violations, environmental crimes, police violence. Journalists expose the abuses that impact us all. They stand up to power and inform us, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. That's why we must stand up for them.
The Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) opened online on 9 November. Check out the schedule and stream the sessions live!
Migrants often face lack of clear, accessible information that allows them to make informed decisions, so word-of-mouth myths and prejudices about access to status regularization prevail. “Many migrants are facing the consequences of decisions they made, which were informed by misinformation spreading on social media,” said Leonard Doyle, head of IOM Communications. Two new IOM campaigns are attempting to counter that. “Think Twice” was presented online in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador on 22 October, two days after the virtual launch of “Mistakes by word of mouth," a campaign in Costa Rica.
Misinformation is damaging our efforts across issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate action and racial justice. The simple act of pausing before you share information online interrupts the emotional response and triggers a moment of critical thinking. As part of the United Nations Secretary General’s global push to stop the spread of COVID-19 misinformation online and the Verified campaign, we are asking you to join our movement. Visit pledgetopause.org and www.takecarebeforeyoushare.org.
To launch the 2020 International Day for Universal Access to Information and its themes, UNESCO organizes the high-level online panel, “Access of Information – Saving lives, Building Trust, Bringing Hope!,” set to take place o
The Committee on Information holds its 42nd session virtually on 2 to 4 September 2020. This subsidiary body of the General Assembly is responsible for overseeing the work of the Department of Global Communications and for providing it with guidance on policies, programmes and activities, as well as evaluating its efforts. The Department tells the UN story across multiple platforms, digital and traditional, to build support for the aims and work of the UN. It seeks to reach people with trusted and objective information to enable engagement in our work.