Messages on World Press Freedom Day – 2024

May 03, 2024 News

---

Guyana Press Association’s World Press Freedom Day 2024 statement

The Guyana Press Association salutes all media workers in Guyana for this World Press Freedom Day 2024. The UNESCO Theme, “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis,” not only places media workers on the frontline of another crisis and highlights the importance of the press in addressing challenges brought on by the environmental crisis but it also gives us an opportunity to work towards solutions.

In Guyana, the press observes this WPFD at a time when the country faces a prolonged dry spell which seems to be now abating in a number of regions, an uncontrolled solid waste management crisis to varying degrees in many areas, and dismally poor environmental management of a number of gold mining and coastal sea defence areas. Dried and cracked canals, increased food prices and shortages of staples such as cassava all point to a world and a country in the throes of a deep environmental crisis.

At a global level, scientists attribute such a phenomenon to climate change which, as we had seen in 2005, also causes devastating floods and can also trigger dangerous rise in sea levels to the detriment of Guyana’s coastland where the majority of people live, work and produce their food. On a larger scale, what is visible is a country where littering and indiscriminate waste disposal is now a national pastime with authorities failing dismally to prosecute perpetrators and collect waste in a timely manner. The local, regional and central governments must take collective blame for the state of our country’s environmental crisis- dirty streets and parapets, clogged drains and canals, and unregulated and unofficial dumpsites/ garbage piles.

The huge Martian-like scars could be seen in Guyana’s gold mining areas where there is no back-filling of mined out areas, miners have changed the course of creeks and rivers and there are huge questions surrounding the actual use of mercury abatement techniques and the eventual elimination of mercury use. Many of our Indigenous Amerindian communities have no alternative but to use polluted water for their domestic use and as a source of fish hunting.

Similarly, the coastline near the sea defence structure symbolises bad waste disposal practices in our towns and villages when one takes into consideration the millions of plastic drink bottles and other debris that wash up and wash off with each tide. Sections of the sea defence are now veritable dumping grounds for domestic and commercial waste. No one seems to care.

All this is happening before our very eyes while the blame game between government and the opposition continues.

Taken together- solid waste and climate phenomena- Guyana is indeed facing an environmental crisis.

Then, what’s needed by the media is constant and sustained training of a pool of specialist journalists whose task will be to simplify science information to make it palatable and connected to their daily lives. The Guyana Press Association also recommends that the Guyana government, private sector and various United Nations organisations inject resources into special serialised productions on environmental issues that will go beyond the average news story whose lifecycle is perhaps one day or a few hours or even minutes. At the same time, media workers need to jealously guard against oil resources being used to bribe them from covering the real issues or engaging in disinformation.

The Guyana Press Association also calls for an end to manufactured segregation and division in our society as the nation seeks to tackle the environmental crisis. The convenience of engaging the Guyana Press Association needs to cease immediately. In as much, as an institution, the Association is always ready and willing to work for the national good, it cannot be at the behest of the political directorate.

Sadly, neither the Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat nor the Head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Khemraj Parsram responded to the Association’s invitation to participate in its event for World Press Freedom Day 2024. However, the Association responded in the affirmative to the government’s invitation to participate in its World Press Freedom Day event.

In light of the intolerable discourtesy extended to the Press Association by Mr. Bharrat and Mr. Parsram, the Guyana Press Association decided to withdraw its well-intentioned participation in the government-organised event.

The GPA wants to take this opportunity to reiterate its commitment to building the capacity of our media workers as we remain open to pursuing specialised training covering various issues. This is evident with our proposals to the PAHO/WHO and the Ministry of Health in 2023 to help our journalists understand and report on suicides in Guyana, our proposal to the Ministry of Health to assist the media with training to help assist with its campaign on HPV Vaccines and our commitment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to ensure that press be informed before it informs on challenges to Guyana’s sovereignty.

The GPA takes this opportunity to call on citizens to ensure the protection of media workers in Guyana. There has been an alarming increase in online attacks against media workers. In some cases, women are trolled and bullied, in other cases, some of our journalists are met with aggression by public officials when asking probing questions.

GPA also calls on the Guyana Police Force to act swiftly in several matters before the police involving media workers. These including the cyber bullying meted out to journalist, Davina Bagot in 2023, shooting incident involving journalist, Travis Chase in 2023 and the alleged sexual assault against the photographer also last year.

As we end our statement, the GPA calls on all to make a valuable commitment towards saving our planet.

__________\-(o)-(o)-/____________

ABCEU Joint Statement –World Press Freedom Day

The Heads of Missions of the Embassy of the United States of America, H.E. Ambassador Nicole Theriot; the British High Commission, H.E. High Commissioner Jane Miller OBE; the Canadian High Commission, H.E. High Commissioner Mark Berman, and the Delegation of the European Union, H.E. Ambassador Rene van Nes, join together to observe World Press Freedom Day under the theme, “The importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis”.

Climate change and related environmental issues have been at the forefront of international dialogue for many years but recent and increasingly erratic weather patterns around the world, growing pressures on flora and fauna, food insecurity and water scarcity have all created new impetus for action. While governments and the international community are prioritising these environmental crises, solutions are not easy and sometimes controversial. Given the differences in opinions and complexities of the crisis, the need for accurate and reliable information cannot be overstated.

Journalists therefore find themselves in a pivotal position, where their pen and their words can influence the hearts and minds of citizens in the high stake global environmental conversation. Freedom of expression is essential, allowing journalists the ability to deliver the facts about climate change and related issues freely and fairly, without influence or intimidation as climate research, climate talks and climate action progress.

With a low-lying coastline and rising sea levels, Guyana is continuously affected by environmental crises like flooding, and more recently, prolonged dry spells. Under such conditions, access to information is crucial to help the Guyanese population understand local environmental impacts, planned interventions and costs, in order to make informed decisions and be a part of the global conversation. The reliability of the information available to the public requires journalists to be given more access to data and science to analyse in order to accurately inform the public.

New research, data and findings should be made readily available to the media. Journalists should be allowed access to speak to local experts and researchers involved in climate work. Additionally, they should also have the opportunity to see environmental work in action, facilitating ongoing learning and staying informed about new interventions and climate activities. This right to access comes with the responsibility for due diligence in reporting, especially at a time when misinformation and disinformation is rampant. Journalists are expected to be neutral and fair when representing the facts. A misrepresentation of facts and figures, whether deliberate or accidental, can have damaging effects, manipulating public perception (locally and internationally) of the environmental situation. This can in turn affect public perception of a Government’s response and use of funds during an environmental crisis.

We therefore encourage Government, Opposition and Stakeholders to be thoughtful and deliberate in their action and to practice transparency and accountability. Engagement with the media and the availability of accurate environmental and other information should be a norm and actively in practice.

We encourage journalists to maintain the integrity in their work and to continue to be curious and enquire.

We encourage the public to show respect for the work of journalists, enabling them to present information without the threat of intimidation or attack (physically or online), particularly women, and LGBT persons.

We commend the efforts of the government of Guyana towards providing training opportunities for members of the media and we encourage more training and open discourse, including dialogue with the Guyana Press Association.

It is important to acknowledge that in all aspects of society, the work of journalists is essential to human rights and a cornerstone to democratic processes. Media freedom and the freedom of expression benefit us all. When the media is reliable, fair and free to operate, and the government is transparent, our countries are more successful.

__________\-(o)-(o)-/____________

Association of Caribbean Media Workers

A Press for the Planet

The Association of Caribbean Media Workers joins with the global fraternity of journalists and other media workers in observing World Press Freedom Day 2024 under the theme “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis”.

This year’s observance comes as we in the region grapple with the existential crisis climate change presents to the Caribbean with rising sea levels, more violent storms, and more of the droughts we are currently experiencing. Therefore, the time has come for regional media to highlight the impact the environmental crisis is already having in our respective countries, especially its impact on the socio-economically disadvantaged. The media plays a major role in reporting on environmental problems and possible solutions. Freedom of Expression, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in our constitutions, is accompanied by a number of limits through the region which means that this right is not absolute.

Therefore, the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) urges our members and others in the Information Industry to act responsibly and not engage in misinformation and disinformation. Further, this year’s observance highlights the need for specialised training of journalists in science communication so that practitioners are better able to report on the science of climate change for our diverse audiences. Beyond news reporting, the ACM recommends that regional governments, NGOs and International Agencies provide much needed resources to support sustained reporting on environmental matters through features, documentaries and investigative reports.

This World Press Freedom Day, the ACM takes the time to salute our colleagues while urging them to continue to execute their tasks bearing in mind that the planet is our home, and we need to preserve it.

---

• ABCEU Joint Statement, Guyana, Guyana Press Association, UNESCO, World Press Freedom Day

---