Press Freedom Days, traditionally marked in May to remember the role and importance of free journalism, are taking place this year under the slogan: “Solidarity for Truth”. On this occasion, the Independent Journalism Centre and other media organizations will carry out several activities, IPN reports.
On May 3, on the initiative of the CJI, several Moldovan editors are to publish a joint text asking a rhetorical question: “What is a society without a free and independent press?”
On May 5, the CJI will launch the Report on Press Freedom in the Republic of Moldova for the period May 3, 2024 – May 3, 2025. The document will present the main setbacks as well as progress made in the media field, providing an overview of the media climate in the country.
On May 6, CJI will organize a public action in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Chisinau, with the message: “We write on behalf of those who can no longer”. The event is a call for solidarity with journalists oppressed by the Kremlin regime and a protest against the pressures and attacks on independent media. Participants will write messages on behalf of silenced, arrested or even murdered journalists and display them on a billboard in front of the embassy.
The CJI is urging journalists, human rights activists and members of civil society to take part in the action and deliver messages about how the war in Ukraine has affected freedom of expression and the need to defend a free press.
On May 13, the CJI will announce the winners of the fifth edition of the Tulip Press Awards. Journalists submitted entries to the competition on topics related to the (lack of) respect for human rights in the Republic of Moldova in order to raise public awareness on this issue.
“The Independent Journalism Center invites you to join these actions to support press freedom in the Republic of Moldova and around the world, because together we can stand in solidarity to promote the truth, defend the right to information and free expression,” reads a press release.
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, following a recommendation of the 1991 UNESCO General Conference and the Declaration on Promoting a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press, adopted by African journalists in Windhoek, Namibia, on May 3, 1991. All over the world, on this day, citizens are informed about abuses against journalists and violations of press freedom, which is a fundamental right recognized and protected by most modern states.