World Press Freedom Day 2021: Origin, Purpose, Theme, all you need to know

Each year on May 03, World Press Freedom Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the fourth pillar of democracy – the press. World Press Freedom Day commemorates the field of journalism and the struggle faced by journalists who have risked their lives to seek and bring true stories to the world.

The World Press Freedom Day to date stands as the day to remind the governments of their commitment to press freedom and as a day for media professionals to reflect upon professional ethics and issues of press freedom.

Origin

The UN General Assembly in 1993 announced that World Freedom Day will be celebrated on May 3 every year.

The UN General Assembly reached this decision after the recommendation made at the 26^th UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991, and also as a result of the 1991 Declaration of Windhoek, which was a statement presented by African journalists about press freedom at a UNESCO seminar that concluded on May 03.

Purpose

As stated by UNESCO, this day is observed to:

•Pay tributes to journalists who lost their lives during their quest to cover the truth,

•Assess the status of press freedom around the world,

•Defend the media professionals and entities from attacks on their independence,

•Celebrate the freedom of the press around the world.

World Press Freedom Day 2021: Theme

The World Press Freedom Day theme for 2021 is ‘Information as a Public Good’.

The theme for World Press Freedom Day 2021 recognizes the importance of seeking information as a public good and explores ways to strengthen journalism.

The World Press Freedom Day 2021 will focus on three key topics:

•Steps focused on ensuring 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, defend, and demand, journalism as an important part of information as a public good.

World Press Freedom Day 2021: Celebrations

The UNESCO and the Government of Namibia is hosting the 2021 Global Conference from April 29-May 03, 2021 in Windhoek.

The event will be a combination of in-presence participation and virtual participation. The conference will draw urgent attention to the looming danger of extinction of local news media across the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event will also dive into ideas to understand what all can be done to increase the transparency of online media companies and improve the working conditions and safety levels of journalists.

On World Press Freedom Day, the 2021 Global Conference will:

•Celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, and

•Host six regional forums to investigate local aspects of press freedom, and

•Host the 6^th Academic Conference on the Safety of Journalists.