Sponsors of Difference Day: 'Journalism without fear or favour'
The European Publishers Council is honoured to be sponsoring the sixth edition of Difference Day, organised by Universite Libre de Brussels (ULB) and Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) as we are seeing the utmost importance of a Free Press more than ever before.
Angela Mills Wade, our Executive Director stated: “As we celebrate Difference Day 2020 on World Press Freedom Day, and the importance of journalism in particular, we find ourselves in the midst of a defining moment for the future of news media. The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the importance of helping citizens make sense of what is happening around them, while holding their governments to account through fact-based, informed news, analysis and advice. This is one of the most crucial things our media have ever had to do. I hope that our publishers, large and small, national and local, will survive the economic turmoil of the crisis and continue their vital role in society, and in underpinning our precious democracy.”
This year’s Difference Day is being celebrated in the comfort of our own homes under radically different circumstances than when we came together at the Bozar in Brussels last year. Yet, the importance of a free press is ever-more important in today’s world. In these uncertain times, people need to be informed ‘without fear or favour’. Only a truly free and independent press sector can hold the powers in check to uphold democracy. COVID-19 dominates today’s news, and the free press has taken their responsibility to heart to provide accurate and truthful information.
The UN launched World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the utmost importance of freedom of the press, and to stress government’s responsibility to uphold and respect the right to freedom of expression, outlined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and to mark the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration – statement of free press doctrine by African newspaper journalists in 1991.
To read more about Difference Day, a European movement to make a difference on WPFD, and learn more about the past celebrations, please follow this link. If you are interested in joining on 3rd May, you may follow this link for more information about the programme and to register for the event. The link to the streaming will be provided on Saturday 2nd May on Difference Day website.
For more information on the World Press Freedom Day can be found on the United Nations website and following this link.