World Press Freedom Day being observed today
May 03, 2021
The "World Press Freedom Day" is being observed across the world, with emphasis on defeating censorship and journalists resolving to keep pursuing their mission without compromising their ideals.
According to UNESCO, the theme for this year's World Press Freedom Day is “Information as a Public Good”.
"It serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good, and exploring what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content to strengthen journalism, and to advance transparency and empowerment while leaving no one behind," read a post on UNESCO's website.
Three main points will be highlighted on this World Press Freedom Day and these include:
- Steps to ensure the economic viability of news media;
- Mechanisms for ensuring transparency of Internet companies;
- Enhanced Media and Information Literacy (MIL) capacities that enable people to recognize and value, as well as defend and demand, journalism as a vital part of information as a public good.
When and how did it originate?
The World Press Freedom Day originated in a UNESCO conference that took place in Windhoek in 1991.
The event ended on 3 May with the adoption of the landmark Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press.
Even after 30 years since the conference was held, the importance to spread and sustain information cannot be understated.
