All about citizen free press professional#

The right to free speech and the media must be underpinned by the right of access to information.

All about citizen free press professional#

Likewise, journalists cannot do their jobs to the best of their professional ability when their safety is constantly at risk and where they operate in unfree and secretive environments. When governments clamp down on free speech instead of empowering citizens with the right to access information, this can fuel a backlash and even promote hate speech online. Recent examples in Africa of information blackouts during national elections the silencing and jailing of journalists under anti-terrorism laws and journalists increasingly under threat or forced into exile, among others, illustrate that when people are robbed of their rights, how quickly the darkness descends. Yet governments today find it as easy to ‘turn off the internet’ as to ban a newspaper or jail a journalist. The digital revolution has certainly empowered millions to exercise a voice they have long been denied. The problem is that these laws cannot be effective if citizens lack the capacity to exercise rights of access, or if access becomes unaffordable, or if governments themselves undermine such laws through lack of responsiveness. After all, they don’t own, but are rather custodians of the information at their disposal.īut because they don’t do so, the campaign for freedom of information laws has gained momentum on the African continent and elsewhere. Governments should instead have to account for why this should not be given. In an ideal world, media and activists would not have to campaign to demand recognition of the rights to free speech and access to information, which are key to real empowerment. Inequality in terms of lack of access to information is also a form of poverty, adding ignorance to the already heavy burden the poor have to bear in terms of physical deprivation. It is not the either/or situation that many politicians may want us to believe.Ĭorruption thrives in the darkness and in a pervasive atmosphere of secrecy. Freedom of speech and the media and an atmosphere of transparency and access to quality information are as interlinked as they are essential to development. Yet rights to free speech and access to information are essential when it comes to the maintenance of democracy and the fight against inequality. Most move slowly, if at all, in giving voice to these basic rights. And commitment to open and transparent governance is a non-negotiable if people are to get the information they need to hold their governments to account, build trust, reduce corruption and be active and meaningful participants in their own development.Īll too often governments pay mere lip service to international, regional and national declarations to which they are signatory on the need for, no, necessity of, the protection of freedoms of speech and media and access to information. Meaningful participation in democratic processes require a citizenry that is well-informed. It’s an undeniable fact that information is power, all the more so because it is not possible for people to lift themselves out of poverty without giving them the tools to do so. The war against poverty is a critical one, and the forging of a knowledge-based society is the best antidote to inequality. People need access to information to empower themselves to have choices and control over the decisions that affect their lives. How often have we heard politicians in Africa say that ‘you can’t eat democracy’? More often than not, these words are used as justification for either stifling or failing to prioritise rights to free speech and media, as well as access to information.Īnd yet the link between access to information and the global goal to reduce poverty alleviation seems abundantly clear. UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.MGIEP - Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development.IESALC - International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.IITE - Institute for Information Technologies in Education.IICBA - International Institute for Capacity-Building in Africa.IBE - International Bureau of Education.ICTP - International Centre for Theoretical Physics.IIEP - International Institute for Educational Planning.UNEVOC - International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training.Education for Sustainable Development Network.International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities – ICCAR.Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.Advancing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.