USINT Hosts Video Conference in Honor of World Press Freedom Day

April 30, 2012 – Thirty independent journalists and bloggers from Cuba joined 240 other individuals from 14 countries in Latin America, the United States and Europe for a live webchat on Investigative Journalism and Freedom of the Press.                      

The webchat, organized by the Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs, was led by Luis Manuel Botello, Program Director of Special Projects at the Washington-based International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), and Javier Sierra, Project Direct at the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC).  During the webchat, participants were able to direct questions to the speakers, most of which were addressed during the hour-long event.

This is the fourth in a series of video conferences on themes about journalism organized by USINT.  These events provide a forum for open, respectful discussion about topics of mutual interest in the journalism field

The United Nations World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) is recognized annually on May 3, following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO's General Conference in 1991. This year’s official celebrations are taking place in Tunisia.  World Press Freedom Day celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. It is a date to encourage and develop initiatives in favor of press freedom, and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide, and serves as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom.  The 2012 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize has been awarded to Eynulla Fatullayev, an Azerbaijani journalist and human rights activist.