World Press Freedom Day

21st anniversary of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, 2014

About this blog

15th July 2019 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Media freedom and the protection of female journalists online

Welcome to the first edition of my blog. I intend to use it to share both reflections on important policy issues and some more personal impressions from my experiences here in Dublin and right across the beautiful country of Ireland. Today, however, I would like to focus on the incredibly important topic of media freedom. […]

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3rd May 2019 Gaborone, Botswana

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by Katharine Ransome

British High Commissioner to Botswana and UK Representative to the Southern Africa Development Community

Defending Media Freedom

British High Commissioner HE Katy Ransome's message on #WorldPressFreedomDay

On 2 May, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, addressed the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day celebrations, hosted by the African Union in Addis Ababa. He noted that, in a world where, in 2018 alone, 99 journalists were killed, some of the brightest spots of hope on press freedom were in Africa. The latest World […]

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3rd May 2019 Hanoi

Gareth Ward

by Gareth Ward

British Ambassador to Vietnam

Freedom of expression and press freedom – striking the balance between freedom and regulation

World Press Freedom Day is celebrated across the globe on 3 May. We, as Ambassadors of Canada and the UK, believe that free and independent media play a vital role in social and economic prosperity, the protection of human rights and in holding the powerful to account. That is why our two countries have recently […]

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13th June 2018 London, UK

Naranjargal Khashkhuu

President at Globe International

Media freedom in Mongolia: a Human Rights Defender’s perspective

“If we don’t protect freedom of expression and free press, we will lose democratic values.” I am a free media advocate from Mongolia, working to ensure fellow Mongolians are able to enjoy their right to freedom of expression both on- and offline. I am passionate about the right to enjoy media freedom and for journalists […]

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3rd May 2018 London, UK

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by Richard Moore

FCO Political Director

You’re not entitled to your own facts

Pat Moynihan famously said, ‘everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.’ Those words have never been more poignant. We’re living through an era where disinformation increasingly cascades through our newsfeeds and across our airwaves. The concept of truth, a fundamental building block for developing consensus and shared understanding is under […]

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3rd May 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Supporting Press Freedom

Today is World Press Freedom Day.  So it was appropriate that I spent Saturday evening at the Sri Lanka Inquirer awards ceremony, an event celebrating the culmination of British High Commission funded training and some of the best recent investigative journalism in Sri Lanka and Maldives. There is no freedom so worth defending as Freedom of […]

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3rd May 2016 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

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by Edmund Fitton-Brown

British Ambassador to Yemen

World Press Freedom Day

Today is World Press Freedom Day. This is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the importance of freedom of information and to pay tribute to those journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Of course advancing freedom of the press is a global issue, yet I’m struck by how […]

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16th February 2016

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Yeni Şafak and Yeni Akit: freedom of expression matters

I was pleased on 16 February to visit the editorial offices of Yeni Şafak with a number of EU Consuls-General.     We went to Yeni Şafak on a “geçmiş olsun” visit after last week’s attacks on Yeni Şafak and Yeni Akit.  This followed similar visits to Hurriyet and Sabah after attacks in 2015.  The UK […]

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8th January 2016

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Press Freedom in Turkey

I was proud to be one of a number of Consuls General, who visited the offices of Cumhuriyet on 6 January.  We made the following statement, and handed over a signed text: “As representatives of EU consulates based in Istanbul, we wish for Turkish journalists across the whole political spectrum to be able to exercise […]

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13th November 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Looking forward in remembrance

On 8 November, we gathered at the Liveramentu War Graves in the Torrington Road cemetery for the annual reflection on sacrifice and the horrors of war that is Remembrance Sunday. The Act of Remembrance was as moving as ever. Bright Sri Lankan sunshine reflected off the rows of white headstones. Veterans, children, diplomats and serving […]

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About World Press Freedom Day

To mark the 21st anniversary of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, 2014, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office aims to “shine a light” to highlight repression of the media…

To mark the 21st anniversary of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, 2014, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office aims to “shine a light” to highlight repression of the media and freedom of expression using personal testimonies and other accounts from around the world.

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