Dear Colleague,
Last week, in anticipation of World Press Freedom Day, we marked CGFoE’s 10th anniversary. At our all-day event on April 25, we hosted a conference on Safeguarding Free Expression: The Role of Judicial Systems in Pivotal Times co-chaired by UNESCO and awarded the 2024 CGFoE Prizes. In case you missed it, all the day’s recordings are available on our YouTube channel. We thank UNESCO for their support of the conference portion of the day, through the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists and the Global Media Defence Fund.
This year’s World Press Freedom Day is dedicated to journalism in the face of the global environmental crisis, and, as such, we devoted one of two UNESCO co-chaired expert panels to this important topic.
“Environmental journalists are facing escalating threats and risks. The alarming number of murders of environmental defenders in Latin America underscores the urgent need for policies ensuring their protection and safety.” Jorge Calderón Gamboa, Independent Expert of the UN Program Harmony With Nature
“Legal harassment is one of the biggest challenges [environmental journalists] face. [...] It is clear that the sole purpose of many of these lawsuits is intimidation and to create a constant sense of pressure to induce self-censorship.” Barbara Trionfi, Press Freedom and Journalism Expert, Author of IPI Report "Climate and Environmental Journalism Under Fire" |
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CGFoE Team with the 2024 Prize Awardees and special guests on April 25, 2024.
Photo credit: Jorge Calderón Gamboa
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The day was full of highlights. From the opening speech of our Associate Director Dr. Hawley Johnson, who emphasized international freedom of expression principles, to Aryeh Neier, President Emeritus of the Open Society Foundations, speaking on the free speech challenges in the US and globally, to the stories - both personal and national - of authors Elena Kostyuchenko and Paul Caruana Galizia and Vivir Quintana singing in advocacy for the rights of journalists worldwide.
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Our Communications Specialist Marija Šajkaš sat down with Elena Kostyuchenko, author of I Love Russia: Reporting from a Lost Country, and Paul Caruana Galizia, author of A Death in Malta: An Assassination and a Family’s Quest for Justice.
Photo credit: Juan Manuel Ospina Sánchez/CGFoE
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The day’s discussions critically examined the state of free speech and democracies around the world. The panelists reviewed freedom of expression victories and failures in regional courts and highlighted the most pressing threats to free speech - those of SLAPPs, artificial intelligence, the rise of authoritarianism, and environmental crisis.
“We all know that freedom of expression is a right in itself - the right to receive, impart, share, and seek information and ideas. But it is also an enabling right for all other fundamental rights: right of political participation, right to vote, right to education, right to assembly. [Freedom of expression] is a right that is essential for us, human beings, to progress.” Mehdi Benchelah, UNESCO Senior Project Officer – Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists Section – UNESCO
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Mehdi Benchelah of UNESCO moderated the first panel titled "Breakthrough Verdicts: Legal Decisions Shaping the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals."
Photo credit: Juan Manuel Ospina Sánchez/CGFoE
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Addressing the audience and opening the 2024 Global Freedom of Expression Prize Ceremony, our keynote speaker Elena Kostyuchenko, Russian journalist and activist, warned against restricting freedom of expression in the name of security. She recalled her own arrests - more than twenty - and emphasized Russia’s path of intensifying repression, “We have no Parliament now. No freedom of speech. No elections. We have war, repression, censorship. The compromise led us straight to what we feared.”
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Elena Kostyuchenko, Russian journalist and activist, opened the 2024 CGFoE Prize Ceremony.
Photo credit: Juan Manuel Ospina Sánchez/CGFoE
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In the category of Significant Legal Ruling, the 2024 Prize went to the High Court of South Africa (Johannesburg) for the Mazetti Management Services (Pty) Ltd and Another v AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism NPC and Others ruling. The CGFoE Prize for Excellence in Legal Services was awarded to the Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic at Suffolk Law School, Suffolk University, and the Association of Maya Lawyers and Notaries in Guatemala for their exceptional advocacy in the case of Maya Kaqchikel Indigenous Peoples of Sumpango et al. v. Guatemala.
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Caroline James, Advocacy Coordinator at AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, spoke at the 2024 CGFoE Prize Ceremony.
Photo credit: Juan Manuel Ospina Sánchez/CGFoE
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Nicole Friederichs, Lead Counsel and Director of the Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic at Suffolk Law School, Suffolk University, Adriana Sunun Pablo, Legal advisor at the Association of Maya Lawyers and Notaries in Guatemala, and Amy Van-Zyl Chavarro, Of-Counsel of the Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic at Suffolk Law School, Suffolk University, received the 2024 CGFoE Prize for Excellence in Legal Services.
Photo credit: Juan Manuel Ospina Sánchez/CGFoE
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The performance of Vivir Quintana, Mexican singer, songwriter, and activist, received a standing ovation. Her voice and verses inspired, called for freedom, and denounced repressions: “Don’t let journalism become almost a death sentence. Don’t let activism become almost a death sentence.” And, “We sing without fear, we ask for justice.”
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Vivir Quintana, Mexican singer, songwriter, and activist, performed at the 2024 CGFoE Prize Ceremony.
Photo credit: Juan Manuel Ospina Sánchez/CGFoE
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The event was generously livecast by the Internet Society. More than a thousand people joined us virtually. We thank the Internet Society for their support.
And we thank everyone who celebrated with us. You made the day special.
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