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World Press Freedom Day 2019: Date, history, significance of the day to mark free press

The theme for World Press Freedom Day 2019 is ‘Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.

By Newsd
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World Press Freedom Day 2019: Date, history, significance of the day to mark free press

The World Press Freedom Day 2019 will be observed on May 3 this year. Mainly the event will be observed in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. This day aims to commemorate the struggle for the free press and to reiterate the high standards and ethics of journalism that makes the professional service to the society rather than a commercial service.

The theme for World Press Freedom Day 2019 is ‘Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation. When fake news has hit the spree of world nation the theme holds a high relevance and also the coverage of media at times of the election is alleged to be biased or it favors a particular political group.

World Press Freedom Day is one of the calendar events of the United Nation. It is planned, organized and promoted by the United Nation. It aims at preserving the sanctity of journalism and upholding the principle of a free press in a democracy.

Significance of World Press Freedom Day

  • It is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principle of press freedom
  • It is an opportunity to assess the state of press freedom throughout the world.
  • It is an opportunity to defend the media from attacks on their independence.
  • It is a day to the journalist who has lost their lives in the course of their duty.

History of World Press Freedom Day

In 1993, the first World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly. On the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference, May 3 was chosen as the date of celebration. This particular date was only chosen as it marked the anniversary of Windhoek Declaration, a charter prepared by the association of African journalist to maintain the highest standard of reportage in an underdeveloped and emerging part of the world.

The vision of the declaration is promoting an independent and pluralistic press as said by UNESCO. The agenda of the declaration has been reiterated and publicized throughout the world in the form of World Press Freedom Day.

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