Ghana commits to participating in annual UNESCO Youth Newsroom
On the occasion of the 25th World Press Freedom Day, May 3, Ghana has committed to annually send youth representatives to participate in the UNESCO Youth Newsroom, wherever the global celebration will be held.
Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, a Deputy Minister of Information, made the disclosure in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at the 2018 World Press Freedom Day, in Accra.
“Ghana will commit to sending representatives to the subsequent Youth Newsroom wherever the World Press Freedom Day is set up in the years to come,” Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah stated.
To the participants in the UNESCO Youth Newsroom, the Deputy Minister said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to get hands on training and collaboration from global partners in covering an event like this.
“A lot of the work is theory in the schools, but this gives them practice opportunity.
“And I am also asking them to collaborate among themselves, so that when they are done with their training, and they get on the world stage and are working, they can collaborate and do a lot of cross border work, which will challenge societies to step up and do more work than we are doing currently.”
Every year, on World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO organises a youth newsroom, which engages journalism students and young reporters from all corners of the world in covering plenaries, parallel sessions and side events.
Additionally, the young professionals conduct interviews with participants and provide background stories and editorials.
The photographers, videographers, social media producers, and other journalists work together, guided by a team of experienced journalists and editors.
The Youth Newsroom team provides a range of articles, photos and video coverage of the global event and bring in fresh perspectives.
The 2018 World Press Freedom Day, on the theme, “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law”, is being organised by the UNESCO in collaboration with the Government of Ghana.
The event brought together over 700 leading actors from the media, civil society, policy makers, representatives of the judiciary, and academia to discuss latest developments and pressing challenges related to press freedom and the safety of journalists.
The World Press Freedom Day celebration found its origin in the Windhoek Declaration, calling for media pluralism and independence, adopted in 1991 in Namibia.
Since 1993, the Day had been the UN International Day on Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom.
This year’s celebration focuses on the role of the media in speaking truth to power and ensuring accountability of institutions and policymakers.
Source: GNA