MWAG message for World Press Freedom Day 3 May

World Press Freedom Day 2021 is being celebrated in the region under the theme, “Information as a Public Good.

This year’s theme further reaffirms the importance of credible information as a public good, as we as journalists review from concept to distribution to reception of content in strengthening our craft while we advance to transparency and empowerment.

MWAG joins on this day with media colleagues across the region and around the world in observing this very important day, the World Press Freedom Day.

3 May each year is an important day to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, to reflect and evaluate press freedom to emulate the work of the media and importantly so to recognise and pay tribute to journalists for their efforts and challenges in executing their duties in the profession.

Despite the day-to-day challenges faced in executing our duties the theme reiterates the fundamentals that need to be taken into consideration daily as to the quality of the work presented to the general public who depend heavily on the members of the fourth estate for accurate and balanced information that will help bring clarity to issues and situations on a daily basis.

The present economic and industrial climate in Grenada coupled with the many prolonged protocols as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are areas that can trigger our thought process now more than ever to take seriously our profession, seek out the information, not merely information but rather credible information which is of critical importance.

We all have a moral responsibility, as the fourth estate, to present to our audiences, information which at the very least will put them in the know.

The Coronavirus pandemic has also necessitated that we adapt to a new normal, which for the most part we have and, I must say made, considerable strides most of our newspapers are now online as we have used the challenges brought on by the virus to become a more tech-savvy industry.

Audrey Azulay UNESCO Director General, in her message, stated that “The theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, Information as a Public Good, underscores the indisputable importance of verified and reliable information. It calls attention to the essential role of free and professional journalists in producing and disseminating this information, by tackling misinformation and other harmful content”.

This year’s World Press Freedom Day marks the 30th Anniversary of the UNESCO Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent, and Pluralistic Press. That declaration led to the recognition by the UN of the World Press Freedom Day to be celebrated every 3 May.

UNESCO calls on all partners, to renew their commitment to the fundamental right to freedom of expression, to defend media workers, and to ensure that information remains a public good.

Happy World Press Freedom Day!

MWAG