Today, May 3, marks World Press Freedom day. The theme for this year’s
celebration is, “Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms - This
Is Your Right!”The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to
be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day to raise awareness
of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of
their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression
enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a
statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper
journalists in 1991.

UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day by conferring the
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on a deserving
individual, organization or institution that has made an outstanding
contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere
in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of
danger.

Created in 1997, the prize is awarded on the recommendation of an
independent jury of 14 news professionals. Names are submitted by
regional and international non-governmental organizations working for
press freedom, and by UNESCO member states.

The Prize is named in honour of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian
journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his
newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá, on 17 December 1986. Cano's
writings had offended Colombia's powerful drug barons.
Media freedom and access to information feed into the wider
development objective of empowering people. Empowerment is a
multi-dimensional social and political process that helps people gain
control over their own lives.

This can only be achieved through access to accurate, fair and
unbiased information, representing a plurality of opinions, and the
means to actively communicate vertically and horizontally, thereby
participating in the active life of the community.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right as stated in
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
However, in order to make freedom of expression a reality, there must
be: a legal and regulatory environment that allows for an open and
pluralistic media sector to emerge; a political will to support the
sector and rule of law to protect it; laws ensuring access to
information, especially information in the public domain; and the
necessary media literacy skills among news consumers to critically
analyze and synthesize the information they receive to use it in their
daily lives and to hold the media accountable for its actions.
These elements, along with media professionals adhering to the highest
ethical and professional standards designed by practitioners, serve as
the fundamental infrastructure on which freedom of expression can
prevail. On this basis media serves as a watchdog, civil society
engages with authorities and decision-makers, information flows
through and between communities.

The fuel that drives this engine is information and therefore access
to information is critical. Freedom of information laws, which permit
access to public information are essential, but so are the means by
which information is made available, be it through ICTs or the simple
sharing of documents.

Information can change the way we see the world around us, our place
in it, and how to adjust our lives in order to maximize the benefits
available through our local resources.

Fact driven decision-making can significantly alter our political,
social and economic perspectives. Therefore, open and pluralistic
media are, perhaps, most precious when they simply provide the mirror
for society to see itself.

These moments of reflection are instrumental in defining community
objectives, making course corrections when society or its leaders have
lost touch with each other or gone astray.

The right to access information can be interpreted within the legal
frameworks that support freedom of information as it applies to
information held by public bodies, or in a wider sense to encompass
both access and circulation of information held by other actors, where
it becomes intrinsically linked to freedom of expression.
Freedom of information and the transparency it promotes, has a direct
consequence on fighting corruption, which in turn has a tangible
impact on development.
Former World Bank president James Wolfensohn often identified
government corruption as the primary hindrance to development and an
independent media sector as the number one tool to fight public
corruption.
Ensuring freedom for the media around the world is a priority.
Independent, free and pluralistic media are central to good governance
in democracies that are young and old.

Free media: can ensure transparency, accountability and the rule of
law; promote participation in public and political discourse, and
contribute to the fight against poverty.

An independent media sector draws its power from the community it
serves and in return empowers that community to be full a partner in
the democratic process.

Freedom of information and freedom of expression are the founding
principles for open and informed debate.
New technology will continue to evolve and allow citizens to further
shape their media environments as well as access a plurality of
sources.

The combination of access to information and citizen participation in
media can only contribute to an increased sense of ownership and
empowerment.

Source: Francis Owusu-Ansah, Might FM