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Marked by the international conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and about 100 events around the world, the 2019 celebration of World Press Freedom Day puts the spotlight on the challenges faced by media in times of elections and takes press freedom to the political heart of Africa.

This year’s WPFD theme “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation”, raised awareness about media’s role in elections and the growing prevalence of disinformation affecting voter’s decisions. The issue was of particular relevance to countries with upcoming electoral processes.

The international conference in Addis Ababa, jointly organized by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the African Union Commission (AUC), was a reflection of the current social and political transformations in Ethiopia. It constituted the first major opportunity for journalists, some of whom were still in prison or in exile just a year ago, and members of the public to openly discuss press freedom issues and the country’s media reforms.

“Going by the repeated promises of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to make the 2020 general elections free and fair, we may be looking at the historic dawn of the true beginning of electoral democracy in which Ethiopians could finally decide on who their representatives should be,” renown Ethiopian journalist Tsedale Lemma stated at the conference.

Hosting the event at the African Union Headquarters also allowed UNESCO to strengthen its collaboration with African Member States to improve press freedom. UNESCO and ECOWAS Court of Justice signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to strengthen the capacities of African judiciary actors. UNESCO will also continue to collaborate closely with the AUC to promote the piloting of multi-stakeholder mechanisms for the safety of journalists in Africa.

Conference participants adopted to highlight the role of journalism in facilitating transparent, free and fair elections. The Declaration made a call to Member States and their electoral management bodies to ensure freedom of expression in legal and policy frameworks.  

A record of 2,000 participants – including 167 speakers, attended the international conference held from 1 - 3 May. Around the world, media outlets, journalists associations and press freedom champions also joined UNESCO’s call to defend journalism and raise awareness about #WorldPressFreedomDay in social media.

The celebration of UNESCO’s flagship event on press freedom was possible thanks to the support of the (MDP), among other contributions. UNESCO and partners also organized World Press Freedom Day celebrations in different countries, several of which are being supported by the MDP.

To name a few:

In , World Press Freedom Day celebration provided a space to discuss issues related to access to information and initiatives to counter hate speech and misinformation in the lead up to the country’s 2020 elections. The Southeast Asian country has seen a rise in the number of media and social media users in recent years, but it still faces challenges in terms of press freedom. The release of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and  Kyaw Soe Ooj from Myanmar after being awarded UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on 3 May was an encouraging news in this regard.

World Press Freedom Day also served to push for the compliance of national policy and legal media frameworks with press freedom international standards. In Somalia, a meeting with media representatives allowed for a review and finalization of the country’s Federal Media Law.

In , the Day raised awareness about other challenges faced by the media such as regulation and   changing media business models, while a debate on the role of journalists in democracy took place in .

World Press Freedom Day also provided an opportunity for UNESCO to reinforce its cooperation with judicial actors in , such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

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