Countdown to World Press Freedom Day - 23 Apr 2012

Next week Thursday, 3 May 2012, is World Press Freedom Day, which marks the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991 in Windhoek, Namibia.

This year, the main celebration of World Press Freedom Day will be held in Tunis from 3-5 May, jointly organised by UNESCO and the Tunisian Government under the theme 'New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies'.

According to a study released in May 2011, the number of people worldwide with access to free and independent media declined to its lowest level in over a decade. The report, Freedom of the Press 2011: A global survey of media independence, found that a number of key countries experienced significant declines, producing a global landscape in which only one in six people live in countries with a press that is designated Free.

This year, a number of celebrations are set to take place across the globe. The UNESCO website has compiled a list of events, meetings and conferences that have been organised.

MISA-Malawi has announced that media practitioners are ready for this year's celebrations and will celebrate in all three regions of the country, with the main celebration taking place in the capital, Lilongwe. The theme for this year's celebrations is 'New Voices: Media Freedom and Social Change'.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) will make it easy for the world's media to commemorate the day, offering a wide-range of editorial and advertising materials for publication on or around 3 May.

In news this week: Airtel Kenya appoints Shivan Bhargava as the new managing director; nominees for the Africa Technology Awards have been announced; in Malawi, a private lawyer has faulted President Banda on the replacement of MBC CEO, Bright Malopa; and the The Nation Media Group in Kenya has already set out 11 political advertising rules ahead of the general elections expected to take place in March 2013.

Have a great week!

Evan-Lee Courie @evan1985