By Antony Kamau
This year’s World Press Freedom Day Global Conference which began on April 29th and will be culminated on 3rd of May, is being hosted by UNESCO and the Government of Namibia in Windhoek, both physically and virtually with media leaders, activists, policymakers, media and legal experts, artists and researchers from all over the world participating.
Speaking in the conference, Audrey Azoulay the Director-General of UNESCO said that this years’ theme; “Information as a Public Good,” underlines the indisputable importance of verified and reliable information. He also added that the theme accentuates the essential role of free and professional journalists in producing and disseminating this information, by tackling misinformation and other harmful content.
The theme which has been regarded as of urgent relevance globally recognizes the changing communication system that is impacting on health, human rights, democracies and sustainable development. It serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good, and exploring what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content to strengthen journalism, and to advance transparency and empowerment while leaving no one behind.
In order to underscore the importance of information within online media environment, the World Press Freedom Day 2021Conference will deal on the steps that are to be taken to ensure the economic viability of news media, mechanisms for ensuring transparency of Internet companies, enhanced Media and Information Literacy (MIL) capacities that will enable people to recognize and value, as well as defend and demand, journalism as a vital part of information as a public good. The conference is also expected to call for urgent attention to the threat of extinction faced by local news media around the world, a crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will put forward ideas to tackle the challenges of the online media environment, push for more transparency of internet companies, strengthen safety of journalists, and improve their working conditions.
With the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) set to host this year’s event here in Kenya, Mr. Maina Muiruri, the chairman in his remarks on Twitter ahead of the commemoration extolled this year’s theme as one that underlines the internationally acclaimed and distinct advantages that the public stands to gain, when the right to information is respected and defended as a constitutional human right. He said that a media that enjoys the freedom of press becomes the “trusted tool to sow the seed of all-rounded development through information.”
His remarks were also backed by Hon. Justin Muturi, The Speaker of The National Assembly who celebrated the importance of press freedom in the establishment of democratic society. “A free and independent media, spreading accurate and factual information is the cornerstone of a vibrant democracy and national development.” Said Hon. Justin Muturi, in a Twitter hypermedia.
According to Hon. Justin Muturi, the press freedom also should mean that the journalists and editors uses all the available legal and ethical means in obtaining information held by the government and about the government. He also raised the importance of professionalism in accessing and disseminating information in a way that helps people become better citizens and actively participate in nation building. “It is not just about access to the information, but also using your professional skills, experience and expertise, as communicators to tell the full story in a way that helps people become better citizens, actively participating in nation building in their spaces” the hypertext posted on Twitter indicated.
Antony J. Blinker, the US Secretary of State also lauded the role of the media in enhancing democracy and development.
According to MCK commissioner Mr Demas Kiprono, Kenya’s quest for an open, democratic and human rights compliant society will heavily rely on free, functional and independent media. Mr Kiprono said that this is because media is a carrier of information that fuels meaningful debates and forms the basis of a knowledgeable and competent citizenry that can make good choices and adequately claim their rights. “The media plays a crucial role in shaping culture, uncovering the truth, challenging injustices and shining a light on the plight of the voiceless in society. ” said Mr Kiprono in a Twitter post.
Kenya has made remarkable efforts in ensuring media freedom by providing the protection of journalists, editors and media houses from interference, control and penalization by the state as stipulated in the Constitution in Articles 33, 34,35 & the Media Council Act 2013. The country has also set up organs such as MCK and the Complaints Commission to protect media freedom.
The World Freedom Day commemorated on the 3rd of May every year is a day observed to
raise awareness on the importance of press freedom and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to
freedom of expression as canonized under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991. It is a day of support for media against press restraint, or abolition of press freedom. It is also a day of remembering those journalists who have lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
This year, the Conference is connecting with the regional World Press Freedom Day celebrations, hosting six Regional Forums to focus on local aspects of press freedom and explore the current trends and challenges.
In Kenya, this year’s commemoration is of great significance as it comes in the backdrop of a contestation between the Media Council of Kenya and the Director of Criminal Investigations Mr. George Kinoti over a gun galore expose broadcast on citizen TV that saw the DCI issue summons against the Royal Media editorial leadership. The MCK rebutted by terming the summons as a ‘threat to media freedom.’
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