May 3 is a reminder to governments to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also for media professionals to reflect about press freedom and professional ethics.
UNESCO is hosting a Global Conference from now to the 3rd of May with the Government of Namibia. In Ghana, the UNESCO Ghana Commission and the Ghana Institute of Journalism have organized a national stakeholders’ forum to commemorate the day.
The 2021 theme for deliberation is, “Information as a public good; media literacy, press freedom and the state of journalism in Ghana.”
At the core of UNESCO’s mandate is freedom of the press and freedom of expression. UNESCO believes that these freedoms allow for mutual understanding to build a sustainable peace.
It serves as a reminder of violations of press freedom – 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.
At the forum in Accra, the consensus was the need for press freedom especially in investigative journalism.
A presentation by panelists Mr. Zakaria Tanko Musah from the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Mrs. Linda Asante-Agyei, vice president of the Ghana Journalists Association and Mr. Manasseh Awuni Azure a freelance journalist delved into the realities of press freedom in Ghana and the right to information as a journalist with personal experiences.
Student journalists posed questions on the profession they have chosen as a career path. Mr. Mawuli Segbefia from the ministry of information spoke about governments commitment to ensuring press freedom.
World Press Freedom Day 2021 will be marked in Ghana on the 4th of May 2021 with a twist from the global theme “30 years after the Windhoek Declaration, information as a public good.”
GBC GHANA ONLINE
