Why the world needs a World Press Freedom Day

Here are some interesting facts about the day that celebrates journalism, from its past origins in Africa to the present-day challenges it seeks to address in mainstream and independent media

Ever since Covid-19 hit the world a little more than a year ago, and people were forced to remain indoors, they have relied entirely on newspapers and news portals to bring them reports on the pandemic raging outside. The press has been at the forefront of detailing the rise in cases, the struggles in containment, and failures in policy-making. 

Yet, journalistic freedoms have been shrinking in several countries, often putting journalists in the path of peril. According to the 2021 World Press Freedom Index put together by Reporters Without Borders shows that journalism is completely or partly blocked in 73 per cent of the 180 countries ranked in the index. India is ranked 142nd in that index and is in the ‘bad’ category along with Brazil, Mexico and Russia. In the last one year, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s government in Egypt—166th on the index—banned the publication of Covid-19 statistics that did not come from the Ministry of Health. Authorities in Iran which is ranked 174th are said to have clamped down on news coverage by media outlets and stepped up trials of journalists to stop them from investigating the Covid-19 death toll.

Every year May 3 is observed as World Press Freedom Day throughout the world and is used as a platform to celebrate the fundamentals and assess the state of press freedom. It is also used as an opportunity to defend the media from attacks on their independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty, according to UNESCO. 

Here are some other interesting facts about the day:

World Press Freedom Day 2021 
The theme for 2021 is “Information as a Public Good”, which aims to focus on the importance of sharing information as a public good and exploring what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content and to advance transparency and empowerment to strengthen journalism. It is being celebrated online and offline at 2021 Global Conference, which is hosted by UNESCO and the Government of Namibia and started on April 29 and will end today. 

Focus of the 2021 Global Conference
With the theme focusing on information as public good, 2021 will also focus on issues like threat of extinction faced by local news media outlets, which has happened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart of that it has also looked to focus on the future, which is online news media and the challenges it faces on a daily basis. The conference is also working towards transparency of internet companies, supporting independent media, strengthening the safety of journalists and also helping improve their working conditions. 

Why this date? A bit of history
May 3 was declared as World Press Freedom Day in December 1993 by the United Nations General Assembly, following a recommendation of the UNESCO General Conference. Incidentally, the day is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day because of the Declaration of Windhoek, which was instrumental in recognising the efforts of journalists. Today also marks the 30thanniversary since that historic event.

What is the Declaration of Windhoek?
The Declaration of Windhoek was produced at a UNESCO seminar on ‘Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press’ held in Windhoek in Namibia in 1991. It was at this seminar that independent African journalists gathered to discuss and focus on ‘the role of a free, independent and pluralistic media in light of the constant pressures and violence faced by media professionals working in Africa’.

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