A group photograph of the discussants
The Centre for European Studies (CES), in partnership with Media4Democracy, with the support of the European Union Delegation in Ghana, has organised a public lecture in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day.
The lecture, which took place on Friday at the Law Faculty conference auditorium, was under the theme: ‘European and International Perspectives on Press Freedom, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information: Lessons for Ghana’.
It was delivered by Helen Darbishire, founder and director of Access Info Europe and an expert for Media4Democracy EU (UK and Spain).
The discussants were Ms Fatou Jagne, West Africa director for Article 19; Mr Gilbert Sendujwa, coordinator of the African Freedom of Information Centre; Dr Roland Affail Monney, president of the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA), and Mr Seth Abloso, coordinator of the Right to Information Coalition in Ghana.
There were over 350 participants comprising students drawn from the Centre for European Studies of the College of Humanities and Ghana Institute of Journalism. Other participants were the Ghana Journalists’ Association, Right to Information Coalition, media practitioners, the EU delegation, representatives of EU member countries and representatives of Media4Democracy in Brussels, Belgium.
The Director of CES, Prof Ransford Gyampo, pointed out that there can be no meaningful discourse on development within a polity without talking about the freedom and liberties of the people who are the ultimate and sovereign repository of the political power that is exercised by those who represent them as leaders.
According to him, the libertarian society that many fledgling democracies seek to construct as a strategy to fight poverty and underdevelopment would crumble if serious efforts are not made to promote the right of the individual to freely express him or herself on given national issues with a view to constructively keeping regimes on their toes.
“Free speech by the individual may help but the power that it projects would certainly be amplified by a press that is also free. But we are well aware of the fact that both the individual and the press can be free if they have access to information,” he argued.
He bemoaned the present situation of the Ghanaian press, particularly given the partisan polarisation that plagues them and the resource constrains that limit their activities.
Prof Gyampo expressed the hope that the lecture would provide answers to the key issues germane to the theme of the lecture.
Ms Darbishire disclosed that even though freedom of expression is common in transitional democracies, it is undermined by ignorance and lack of information by the ordinary citizenry and the media.
According to her, in many developing democracies, media pluralism, access to information, press freedom and the security of journalists are increasingly under threat.
“Legal restrictions on speech such as defamation, lèse-majesté, insult or blasphemy continue to threaten freedom of expression globally. National security, state of emergency and counterterrorism laws are increasingly criminalising legitimate reporting, leading to unjust penalties for journalists, human rights defenders and those critical of the government,” she added.
Ms Darbishire continued, “Digitalisation raises concern for journalists’ source protection and facilitates mass surveillance of citizens, threatening privacy. Concerns about the role and responsibilities of global Internet intermediaries (ICT and social media companies) are growing, creating unprecedented regulatory and policing challenges. Harassment and intimidation of journalists are persistent.”
She argued that while Reporters Without Borders note 2017 as the least deadly year for professional journalists in 14 years, figures remain alarming.
“Sixty five journalists were killed in 2017, 326 are currently in prison and 54 are held hostage while deaths of women journalists have doubled since 2016.” she mentioned.
By Solomon Ofori