Jakarta to Host UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize Ceremony

Jakarta, InfoPublik - The 2017 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize award ceremony will be held in Jakarta on Wednesday evening.

"The prize is awarded annually and marked by a ceremony, and the winner is presented with the sum of US$25 thousand," the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) noted in a statement.

Named in honor of Guillermo Cano Isaza, an assassinated Colombian journalist, the prize aims to honor a person, organization, or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defense and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger.

It is intended to reward journalists who have demonstrated dedication to upholding the freedom of expression and information and to award them with the international recognition they deserve. The names of candidates can be submitted by the member states and organizations working in the field of journalism and have upheld the freedom of expression.

Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova will award the 2017 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to Dawit Isaak, the imprisoned Eritrean-born journalist who will be represented by his daughter, Bethelem Isaak, during a ceremony to be hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

UNESCO, in cooperation with the Indonesian government, is organizing the World Press Freedom Day Conference themed "Critical Minds for Critical Times: The medias role in advancing peaceful, just and inclusive societies," in Jakarta on May 1-4, 2017.

The program of the four-day conference has been designed to raise awareness on the importance of free and fact-based journalism in promoting peace and justice and supporting the efficiency, accountability, and inclusiveness of institutions in line with the 16th United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. 

The World Press Freedom celebration was officially opened by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf M. Kalla and Bokova.

The conference features a plenary session on quality journalism: a public good for just, peaceful, and inclusive societies and six parallel sessions on subjects spanning media and information as a bulwark against hate speeches, inclusiveness, gender inequality, and violent extremism. A specific session is dedicated to freedom of press in Southeast Asia.