Affail Monney
Ghana is to host the main global celebration of the 2018 edition of the World Press Freedom Day.
The event is slated from 2-3 May, 2018 under the global theme, ‘Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law.’
President of the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA), Affail Monney, in a statement, noted that the event in Accra was being organized by UNESCO, the government of Ghana and GJA.
The statement said the international conference would be attended by about 700 participants from over 90 countries in the world.
It indicated that President Akufo-Addo, Director-General of UNESCO, Aydrey Azoulay and President of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Philippe Leruth, are expected to grace the occasion.
“It will feature vibrant debates and discussions about the interplay between media, political process and the judicial system, as well as issues such as transparency of the political system, independence and media literacy, the judiciary and accountability of state institutions towards the public,” the statement added.
It added that “in this context, strengthening the watchdog role of independent journalism will be explored so that it can better expose electoral violations, gender-based inequalities and human rights abuses which undermine the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The statement explained that “the conference will hold an awards night on May 2, 2018 to present the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to a person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and promotion of press freedom.”
It said the prize is one of the most prestigious international awards in this area, adding that preceding the main event will be a candle vigil on May 1, 2018 at the Ghana International Press Centre in honour of fallen heroes followed by a cocktail to welcome foreign journalists.
By Melvin Tarlue