ADDIS ABABA– The global conference on the 2019 World Press Freedom Day will be held from 1st to 3rd of May in Addis Ababa under the theme, “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.”
The conference, which will be held at the Headquarters of the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), is jointly organized by UNESCO, the Government of Ethiopia and the African Union Commission and will focus on the role of the media in elections and democracy.
In addition to international participants, a good number of Ethiopian media organizations, journalists, human rights activists and others will participate in the occasion.
Addressing a press conference last Thursday, Lars Tallert, Head of International Policy at Fojo Media Institute, a leading Swedish media institute, said the global conference is unique and remarkable for Ethiopia as the country is in a new spirit of peace-building, social cohesion, and sustainable development with no journalist or prisoner of conscience in jail.
In line with this a conference, a discussion forum under the theme ‘Promoting Journalism and Democracy in Practice- Media Reform in a Time of Change’ was also held at ECA recently.
Tallert said the discussion forum has aimed at contributing to the on-going media reform process in the country.
Strong institutions, organizations, and associations that can actually implement the media law are badly needed, he added.
To achieve the goal, “we need a strong independent judiciary system with a strong independent regulatory system; we need strong independent media council, editors’ forum, media owners association, journalists’ union, and broadcaster association, among others”, he said.
Hadra Ahmed, CEO of Nubia on her part said: “It is our hope that the outcome of the discussion from the conference will be used as an input for the on-going media reform in the country.”
The discussion forum was organized by the Swedish Embassy in Ethiopia; Fojo Media Institute, and Nubia Media and Communications, an Ethiopian based Pan-African company specializing on media and communications.
The Ethiopian Herald April 13, 2019BY HAILE DEMEKE
