World Press Freedom Day 2011 Steering Committee Announces Event Sponsors

Washington, DC (April 13, 2011) -- The Executive Steering Committee for World Press Freedom Day 2011 announced the list of sponsors today for this year’s historic event held May 1-3, in Washington, DC.

World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every year on May 3 worldwide. The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organizes World Press Freedom Day commemorations to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom. The United States looks forward to hosting UNESCO’s official proceedings of World Press Freedom Day 2011, for the first time. 

“The support of World Press Freedom Day 2011 sponsors is helping keep press freedom at the forefront of the global agenda,” said W. Robert Pearson, President of IREX.  IREX, which led the fundraising initiative for World Press Freedom Day, is an international nonprofit organization with expertise in media development. “In today’s shifting media landscape, each of these sponsoring organizations and companies continue to invigorate the global movement to protect the freedom of the media as a fundamental human right. This widespread support will allow broad-based public conversation about the importance of press freedom at this year’s event.”

Lead funding for the event is provided by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Support from donors including Omidyar Network and the Open Society Foundations enables speakers and participants from media sectors worldwide to join in the events to be held at the Newseum and the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

The full list of sponsors includes:
• John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
• Omidyar Network
• The Open Society Foundations
• U.S. Department of State
• UNESCO
• Google
• The National Press Club
• The Newseum
• Goldman Sachs
• Bloomberg
• TV Globo
• Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation, Inc.
• The Washington Post Company
• Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
• Yahoo!
• MasterCard Worldwide
• Pia-Maria and Stephen Norris
• The Associated Press
• The Durango Herald
• Mashable
• Livestream
• InterMedia
• Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University

For additional information on the World Press Freedom Day 2011 sponsors, please click here.
 
More than 20 non-governmental organizations and companies are collaborating to organize the event and support the leadership of UNESCO and the U.S. Department of State in elevating the global conversation about freedom of the press. The event planning is led by an executive committee comprised of the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy, IREX, the UN Foundation, and the U.S. Department of State, working in collaboration with UNESCO.

For World Press Freedom Day 2011 event registration information, please visit www.wpfd2011.org. Registration is free and open, but space is limited. Many sessions will be live streamed online for those unable to attend in person.

Visit the World Press Freedom Day 2011 Facebook page for more information http://www.facebook.com/WPFD2011/.
 
Find World Press Freedom Day 2011 on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wpfd2011.  
 
Read the World Press Freedom Day 2011 blog: http://wpfd2011.org/blog.

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About World Press Freedom Day
World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every year on May 3 worldwide. The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organizes World Press Freedom Day commemorations to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. In December 1993, the UN General Assembly proclaimed May 3 as World Press Freedom Day. Since then, it has been celebrated each year on May 3, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles as put together by newspaper journalists in Africa during a UNESCO seminar on “Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Press” in Windhoek, Namibia in 1991. The declaration calls for free, independent, pluralistic media worldwide characterizing free press as essential to democracy and a fundamental human right.
 
World Press Freedom Day 2011
This year’s World Press Freedom Day conference will take place May 1-3 at the Newseum and National Press Club in Washington DC. It will feature innovative journalists, donors, and researchers who focus on digital media and the new opportunities—and threats—to freedom of expression that lie in the use of new technologies and social networks. The conference is organized jointly by UNESCO, the U.S. Department of State,, the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy, IREX, and the the United Nations Foundation, with support from a steering committee of more than 20 non-governmental organizations.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Since 1950, the foundation has granted more than $400 million to advance quality journalism and freedom of expression. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

Contact: Sarah Johnson; +1-202-247-8832; wpfd2011@gmail.com