By Enock Sithole
The World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), on May 3 was celebrated through various themes in different countries on the African continent.
Globally, the 31st WFPD was celebrated under the theme ‘A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis’.
Ajenda got a glimpse of celebratory events in Zambia, Namibia, Mauritius and South Africa.
In Zambia, the event was hosted by the Chikuni Community Radio Station, in Monze province, under the global theme.
The event was attended by the information and media minister, Mr Cornelius Mweetwa, and was attended by officials from USAID, among organisations. Awards were handed to some of the country’s finest journalists.
Senior lecturer at the University of Zambia, Dr Basil Hamusokwe, who attended the celebrations said it was encouraging to have the event hosted by a community station in the rural areas of the country because this meant the message of press freedom was taken to people who don’t often hear about it.
In Namibia, the Namibia Media Trust (NMT) celebrated the WFPD under the theme ‘Sustainable Public Service Journalism Key to Democracy and Environmental Health’ and issued a media statement in which it said: “We recognize that sustainable journalism is about more than just survival; it’s about a thriving press that innovatively adapts to the complexities of our times. This includes protecting environmental journalists who courageously expose environmental injustices and hold the powerful to account.”
The NMT added that it “stands firmly on the foundation laid by the 1991 Windhoek Declaration – born in our capital – and a cornerstone of independent and pluralistic media, crucial for a healthy democracy”.
The organisation called on journalists, policymakers, and the public to “embrace the principles of sustainable journalism by committing to protect, educate and empower”.
In Mauritius, the celebrations were held at the University of Mauritius and focused on encouraging student journalists to “look into journalism in a new way,” said senior lecturer, Christina Chan-Meetoo, who co-organized the celebratory event with the students. Celebrating under the theme ‘Building stronger and more exciting journalism for Mauritius’, some 70 participants discussed ways to encourage young journalists to see the profession in a new light, considering the political climate in the country and developments in the media fraternity.
She said issues such as fact-checking, data journalism, investigative journalism and climate change journalism were new areas in the profession that rookie journalists could take an interest in.
This was a crucial discussion in a scenario where both audiences and journalists were taking less interest in legacy media, said Chan-Meetoo. Newly graduated journalists tended to leave the profession for careers in other industries. Thus, there was a need to encourage students to look into journalism in a new way, she argued.
In South Africa, the WFPD was celebrated with a Webinar led by the University of the Western Cape’s Prof Sisanda Nkoala who discussed the role of language in press freedom. Prof Nkoala has championed the project of translating the SA Press Council’s Press Code of Ethics and Conduct into 7 of South Africa’s 12 official languages.
This, she said, “underscores the ongoing pursuit of linguistic inclusivity within the South African media landscape”.
“True inclusivity necessitates empowering indigenous voices to tell their own stories in their languages. The translations of the Press Code will enable inclusive engagement by South Africans to hold the media to account,” she said.
World Press Freedom Day provides the perfect platform to celebrate progress and forge deeper collaboration to achieve the goal of a Free Press that values linguistic diversity, said Prof Nkoala.
Participants included the SA National Editors’ Forum’s Themba Sepotokele, who told the Webinar that it was a laudable initiative to have the Press Code available in as many languages as possible.
Mbali Dlomo who publishes in IsiZulu in South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal province told the Webinar that it was pleasing to see people read and understand the news because it was written in a language they understood.
This article was first published by Ajen Newsletter