Today is World Press Freedom Day
Every year, May 3 is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO's General Conference in 1991.
This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence.
It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom - a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.
It is a date to encourage and develop initiatives in favour of press freedom, and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide.
3 May acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.
Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom.
It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
UNESCO will lead the 25th celebration of World Press Freedom Day.
The main event, jointly organized by UNESCO and the Government of the Republic of Ghana, is taking place in Accra, Ghana on 2 – 3 May.
This year’s global theme is ‘Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law’, and will cover issues of media and the transparency of the political process, the independence and media literacy of the judicial system, and the accountability of state institutions towards the public.
The Day will also examine contemporary challenges of ensuring press freedom online.
UN Secretary General, António Guterres in a tweeted message said: "Promoting a free press is standing up for our right to truth. On #WorldPressFreedomDay, I call for the protection of journalists and the strengthening of press freedom."
Ghana's President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivering a speech at the World Press Freedom Day Awards Dinner, at the Kempinski Hotel, on Wednesday, charged the media to meet the threat of fake news head-on.
He said the phenomenon of fake news, if not checked, has the potential to undermine democracies.
“This is a major threat to the integrity of the news world as we have known it. It is not something to be left only to regulators to deal with. It is something that the whole world of media practitioners must resolutely confront and assist the society to identify and eliminate.”
“If not, it has the tendency to undermine the very profession they practice. It may in the long term, lead to a significant weakening of the entire industry,” President Nana Akufo-Addo said.
He also urged Ghanaians to continue to defend the right to free expression in the name of an open society and accountable governance.
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