[UNESCO CI News] CI highlights

UNESCO Communication and Information Weekly Newsletter

• 20.11.15 South Sudan media stakeholders appeal for decriminalization of defamation in media laws A two-day conference held in Juba to mark International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (2 November), has recommended decriminalization of defamation as is contained in the South Sudan 2013 Media Authority Act. It also appealed to the government to speed up investigation of the seven journalists killed in South Sudan, with a view to end impunity on crimes against journalists and eliminate the country's rating on global impunity index.

• 20.11.15 UNESCO endorses new approach to Internet issues In a groundbreaking decision on UNESCO's role in the digital age, on Tuesday, 17 November 2015 the Organization's 195 Member States endorsed options for action on Internet-related issues, including embracing the concept of Internet Universality.

• 20.11.15 Global design contest for World Press Freedom Day 2016: Extension of deadline to 7 December 2015 The deadline for the global design contest for World Press Freedom Day 2016 has been extended to Monday 7 December 2015.

• 20.11.15 Director-General condemns killing of Brazilian community radio journalist Israel Gonçalves Silva The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today denounced the murder of Brazilian radio journalist Israel Gonçalves Silva.

• 20.11.15 UNESCO General Conference adopts unanimously a new normative instrument on the preservation of documentary heritage The preservation of documentary heritage materials is one of the daunting tasks of memory institutions worldwide. This task is becoming more and more important, not least because of the fast development of the Internet and the digital technologies as well as with the well-documented need for updated legislation at national and international levels. For UNESCO, it is beyond doubt that humanity's documentary heritage is a fundamental expression of the richness and diversity of different cultures and traditions and its preservation is therefore considered of the utmost importance.

• 19.11.15 What do young people want from their national broadcasters? On 4 and 5 November, young civil society practitioners, representatives from the Jordanian Radio and Television Corporation and Roya TV, regional and international media experts, came together in Amman to discuss how to develop TV programming that more closely reflects the views, concerns and interests of young people.

• 18.11.15 Training for security forces in Côte d'Ivoire on freedom of expression Security forces in Côte d'Ivoire participated in a three-day workshop on freedom of expression and public order organized by the UNESCO Office in Abidjan, with the support of UNDP, from 12 to 14 November 2015, in Grand-Bassam. In total 25 officers of the national police and five journalists attended the training.

• 18.11.15 UNESCO enhanced professional and accurate media reporting in times of elections in Skopje Media professionalism is crucial during election periods. A free and fair election is not just about the freedom to vote, it also depends on the information offered to citizens to engage in the public debate and make informed choices.

• 17.11.15 UNESCO upgrades its global toolkit for the digital world On the 70th anniversary of its creation, UNESCO adopts new tools to address privacy, freedom of expression, radicalization, hate speech, access to information and knowledge, and other key challenges of the digital age.

• 17.11.15 UNESCO Internet Freedom Series Publications launched at 10th IGF Six editions of UNESCO's flagship series publications on fostering Internet freedom were launched and presented at the 10th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), 12th November. All editions are available online, with 700 hard copies of the publications distributed at the Forum.

• 17.11.15 Libyan journalists tackle the challenge of widespread impunity As part of commemorations marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Libyan journalists and Human Rights activists have recommended a number of concrete proposals to enable the continuity of their work and to ensure that crimes against media professionals do not go unnoticed or unchallenged.

• 17.11.15 UNESCO launched its comprehensive study Keystones to Foster Inclusive Knowledge Societies at the 10th IGF "We congratulate UNESCO for conducting such valuable research and engaging all stakeholders in the process", was the sentiment of several speakers at UNESCO Open Forum 13th November at the 10th IGF.

• 17.11.15 Director-General condemns killing of journalist Zaman Mehsud in Pakistan The Director-General of UNESCO today denounced the killing of journalist Zaman Mehsud, in the Tank district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on 3 November.

• 13.11.15 High-level participants from over 50 countries ready to join in the dialogue on gender equality in media The twin events International Development and Cooperation Meeting on Gender and Media, and the First General Assembly of the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG) will take place in one month, from 7 to 10 December in Geneva.

• 13.11.15 UNESCO new research on balancing privacy and transparency debated at 10th IGF "Privacy and transparency do not balance each other, but complement each other", asserted by professor Joseph Cannataci at the University of Groningen, who has led the new UNESCO research project "Balancing privacy and transparency in the context of promoting online freedom of expression".

• 13.11.15 National Open University of Nigeria commissions a unit for Open Educational Resources. With the support of the UNESCO Programme for Open Educational Resources (OER), the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) officially commissioned a dedicated Unit for Open Educational Resources. The specialised Unit marked NOUN's commitment to championing OER in Nigeria, West Africa, and beyond. The purpose of the Unit is to integrate OERs into all levels of teachings and learnings in NOUN to enhance the quality and access to higher education for thousands of Nigerians and African students.

• 13.11.15 Towards a Revised UNESCO's Language Vitality Index UNESCO, in cooperation with SOAS World Languages Institute supported by the London Middle East Institute in UK, is organizing a two-day consultative expert meeting on the revision of UNESCO's Language Vitality Index, which will be used for the development of UNESCO's World Atlas of Languages.

• 13.11.15 Inception workshop held for community radio stations under UNESCO/SIDA project in Uganda UNESCO organized a two-day inception workshop to lay foundation for support of four local community radio stations - Radio Apac FM, Speak FM, Nakaseke FM, and Mama FM - under its SIDA funded project themed: "Empowering Local Radios with ICTs" from 4 to 5 November 2015 in Kampala, Uganda. The workshop aimed at enabling community practitioners from the beneficiary stations to learn more about the project, select their priority activities, mobilize local involvement of various stakeholders from the media sector to ensure the smooth running of the UNESCO/SIDA project during the period of its implementation (2015-2017) in Uganda.

• 12.11.15 Internet Universality explored at the 10th IGF "The Internet Universality framework contributes to the achievement of the 2030 agenda in formulating a holistic, integrated and synergetic approach towards ICTs and the Internet", the Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in Latin America and the Caribbean, Lidia Brito, has stated.

• 11.11.15 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists commemorated in Tunisia As a part of the worldwide commemorations of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI), the workshop "Safety of journalists: practices and legislation in the transitional context", was organized in Tunisia, on 2 November 2015. Its aim was to assess the situation of safety of journalists in Tunisia and discussing the legislative framework and legal practices of administrative and judicial investigations into attacks and crimes committed against journalists in the country.

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