World Press Freedom Day celebrated

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Pakistan in collaboration with the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Embassy of Sweden celebrated the World Press Freedom Day here.

The event engaged 70 participants including university students, journalists and media workers, civil society organizations, government officials, UN counterparts and representatives of international community in a discussion on importance of a free and independent media.

The main segment of the event was debates held on sub-themes of online speech regulation and the role of social media in the times of elections.

In his welcome address, EU Ambassador Jean-François Cautain reminded it was the 25th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day and called for a moment of reflection.

The ambassador further added, “Free press is the key to peace, free press is the key to justice, free press is the key to stable democracy. Looking at the state of press in any country is looking at how a country is doing when it comes to state of human rights and the state of democracy.”

Shafqat Jalil, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Heritage, in his opening remarks acknowledged the relevance of media in context of upcoming general elections in Pakistan: “The independence of media and provision of justice are inseparable. As free media is fundamental to check misuse or abuse of power, building the capacity of journalists enables them to act as a watchdog.”

Neil Buhne, UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan in his remarks pointed out that in the face of rapidly changing nature of social and mainstream media, it was important to examine how these changes could have positive or negative effects in Pakistan. He said in the light of recent attack on journalists in Kabul, press freedom was more relevant than ever.

Ms. Ingrid Johansson, the Swedish Ambassador for Pakistan closed the ceremony noting that the diverse audience present at the event symbolized the universal relevance of and commitment to media freedom: “Online speech and social media has become part of everyday life and gives us unforeseen possibilities to receive and share information, yet these new media platforms also face new types of challenges. However, we must safeguard and appreciate this scrutinizing institution of media, because it makes our societies more effective and enlightened.”