Windhoek, NAMIBIA
Namibia has set its sight on hosting
the 2021 World Press Freedom Day conference, to coincide with the 30-year
anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration.
A formal bid by the ministry of
information was submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (Unesco) late last year.
Minister of information and
communication technology Stanley Simataa confirmed government's eagerness to
host the event.
“Cabinet has approved the hosting of
the 2021 World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) conference in Windhoek, Namibia, to
coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration for the
development of a free, independent and pluralistic press,” he said.
The Windhoek Declaration is a statement
of press freedom principles founded by African newspaper journalists on 3 May
1991.
According to Unesco, 3 May is
commemorated to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, evaluate
press freedom around the world, defend the media from attacks on their
independence and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the
exercise of their profession.
This year's World Press Freedom Day
conference will take place in the Hague, Netherlands. The theme is 'Journalism
without Fear or Favour'.
Namibia Media Trust (NMT) executive
director Gwen Lister, a well-known champion for media freedom, stressed the
significance of the World Press Freedom Day 2021 being hosted by Namibia,
saying it would come at an opportune time.
“As the birthplace of the [Windhoek]
Declaration, which put the demand for free, independent and pluralistic media
squarely on the African and world map, it is also critical that Namibia at the
same time re-commit to freedom of speech and the media, not only here, but also
further afield,” she said.
Lister said it will be a proud moment
for the government to host WPFD 2021.
She added that it would be fitting for
Namibia to maintain its high ranking on press freedom at the time of hosting
the event. Lister said despite president Hage Geingob showing his commitment to
press freedom, there have been worrying signs of late, one of which is the
promised Access to Information Act that has yet to become a reality.
“The NMT will work closely with
partners in the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and
Unesco, to make sure that we not only pull it off, but make it one of the most
successful WPFD events to date. As a chair of the seminar where the historic
Declaration was adopted, it is also a proud moment for me personally to witness
WPFD coming home to Namibia,” Lister said.
Editor's Forum of Namibia (EFN)
chairperson Frank Steffen said the discussion surrounding Namibia's bid to host
the World Press Freedom conference has been on the cards for a long time, and
the forum has endorsed the idea and is waiting for the final arrangements by
the government, and for Unesco approval.
Speaking to Africa yesterday,
Steffen said the EFN would welcome Namibia hosting the conference and, should
Namibia receive Unesco's approval, all the relevant stakeholders would need to
be involved, including the journalists of the year.
“Following our discussions with the
government, we provided them with a letter to confirm our interest in the
conference. Once we get a green light, we would need to consult extensively
with other media members such as the Namibia Media Trust and get a working
committee, solely meant for this project,” he said.
The chairperson further stated that if
Namibia wins the bid to host World Press Freedom Day 2021, and the EFN is
entrusted with organising it, they would review the programme and all details
involved, and would need the financial support of the government to pull it
off.
“Namibia has the capacity to pull off
this event, but we will need to have all stakeholders involved on board and
[to] get the necessary financial support from the government,” Steffen noted.
Meanwhile, Namibia's global press
freedom ranking has dropped for two consecutive years, namely for 2017 and
2018, standing at 24 and 26 respectively, according to the Reporters Without
Borders' World Press Freedom Index. However, in 2019 the ranking improved to 23. -
Africa
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