Ghanaian media to celebrate 2010 World Press Freedom Day

Accra, April 26, GNA - Ghanaian journalists and other media personnel will join the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to commemorate the 2010 World Press Freedom Day which falls on Monday, May 3. It will on the theme: "Freedom of Information: The Right to Know." The UN-designated day will be marked by a symposium and flag-raising ceremony at the Ghana International Press Centre on May 3, at 10.00 a.m. It will be sponsored by Friedrich Ebert Foundation. A statement issued in Accra on Monday by Mr Bright Blewu, General Secretary of GJA said the celebration would be ushered-in with a public lecture on Friday, April 30, at the centre at 1600 hours. It said the public lecture sponsored by Accra Brewery Limited is on the topic: "Freedom of Information and Broadcasting Laws: Relevance to Press Freedom."

Speakers at the symposium and flag-raising ceremony to be chaired by Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, Chairman of National Media Commission (NMC), include Mr John Tia Akologu, Minister of Information. There will be contributions by representatives of Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana and Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association.

The rest are Network of Community Radio Stations, Institute of Public Relations, Ghana, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Coalition on Right to Information.

The UN Secretary General and UNESCO Director General's message for the Day will be presented at the symposium by Acting UNDP Resident Representative and UNESCO Resident Representative in Ghana. The statement said the public lecture would be delivered by Mr Akoto Ampaw an Accra Legal Practitioner and member of the NMC, and chaired by Mr Berifi Apenteng, another member of NMC and a Media Consultant. World Press Freedom Day was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993. The Day seeks to remind governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations as well as civil society of the crucial role a free press plays in strengthening democracy and fostering development around the world. The Day also serves as an occasion to remind both government and the governed of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom.