World Press Freedom Day 2019 observed across the world, 3 May: World Press Freedom Day: The World Press Freedom Day is being observed globally on 3rd May, which is celebrates, observed and honour as the World Press Freedom Day.
The World Press Freedom Day set a goal or you can say target which is emphasized o the celebration of the fundamental principles of press freedom, protect, safeguard, support or preserve the media from attacks and pay tribute to reporters who have lost their lives while being on duty or doing the live reporting of different news.
2019 Theme: Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law
The theme of 2019 World Press Freedom Day – ‘Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law’, things to see the significance and crucial of an empowering legal environment for press freedom which highlighted and being focuses on the role of an self-governing judiciary which make sure to give the legal security for press freedom and the prosecution of crimes that is taking place against all reporters on the worldwide basis.
The theme also throws the light ahead of the media, press and its unique, different or special kinds of role.
The principle role of the press or the media is to foster the sustainable development.
When and Why was the day established?
- In December 1993, the day was established and launched by the UN General Assembly, subsequent to the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference.
- The day also marks the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of press freedom principles which put jointly by the African newspaper journalists, that was presented and produced at a UNESCO seminar, and this seminar happened on the 29 April to 3 May 1991.
* On this occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO also detained and organized a ceremony which is keen to deliver away from the 2019 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize anyway.
- The 2019 Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize went to jailed Egyptian photographer Mahmoud Abu Zeid, widely known as Shawkan. In August 2013, Abu Zeid was arrested for covering risky and the deadly demonstration between the security forces and supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in Cairo, Egypt.
- He is one among the 700 defendants faced charges of killing police and vandalizing property throughout the period of clashes.
- On 25th April 2018, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released the World Press Freedom Index 2019, shimmering growing hostility towards all reporters globally.
- The index replicates and shows the growing influence of political heads and rival models. This was pointed out that how more and more democratically-elected leaders no longer wish to see press or media as the part of democracy, but in fact as a rival. For example, in 2017, the US Congress narrowed the freedom of the press, which only shows the way to its fall in the index from rank 43 in 2017 to rank 45 this year.
- The index was topped by Norway again for the 2nd year; go behind by Sweden at 2nd and the Netherlands at 3rd. Though Nordic nation dominates the index, that was also somehow were affected by the overall decline.
- India’s rank dropped down to 138th in the index this year from 136th in 2017. The index said that the PM Narendra Modi’s “troll army” for increasing hates speeches targeting journalists or reporters who are active on the social site.
