3rd May is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day every year. The main aim of this day is 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 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 NGO working for Press Freedom and by UNESCO member states.
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Guillermo Cano Isaza
(12 August 1925 – 17 December 1986)
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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 Bagota, on 17 December 1986. Cano’s writings had offended Colombia’s powerful drug barons.
UNESCO also marks World Press Freedom Day each year by bringing together media professionals, press freedom organisations and UN agencies to assess the state of press freedom worldwide and discuss solutions for addressing challenges. Each conference is centred around a theme related to press freedom, including good governance, media coverage of terrorism, impunity and the role of media in post-conflict countries.
