Speech of Martha Ramos, World Editors Forum President, for the occasion of the award of the 2025 WAN-IFRA Golden Pen of Freedom – The Independent Press of Ukraine.

Krakow, Poland, 5th May 2024

Ladies and Gentlemen, Colleagues and Friends, a very good afternoon and warm welcome to you all.

I stand before you today at what is a critical moment for our profession. I know we seem to have been saying this repeatedly for a long time now, but the climate for journalism has altered, the rules are being torn apart, and we are truly in uncharted territory. 

Familiar challenges continue to stalk our profession and weigh heavily on our newsrooms; issues we have been grappling with, endlessly debating, and scrambling to adapt to – all stand in vivid focus. 

The economic model that funds our journalism and keeps public interest reporting accessible remains under pressure like never before. Addressing the constant march of new technology and finding ways to reach our audiences before they turn away preoccupies every media leader.

And the safety of our journalists, online and off, during conflict and – increasingly – in their regular day-to-day coverage, has deteriorated dramatically. We abhor the deaths of so many of our colleagues in Gaza, and condemn unequivocally the murders of those deliberately targeted by the Israeli army – simply because they were press. 

We cannot allow impunity to erase the memory of fallen journalists. Our brave colleagues in Gaza continue to defeat the silence being imposed on them; we should amplify and join with them at every opportunity.

But today we face an added challenge, perhaps our greatest yet – one that we have been sounding the alarm about for a number of years, but never truly thought would come to pass in the way that it has. 

I am referring to the mainstreaming of populist leaders, who are taking full advantage of the polarised times we live in to disrupt the established order, turn truth against itself, and unleash extreme, often reactive agendas. 

And always with the press as a prime target.

The signs have been there for many of us to see, from the Philippines to Brazil to my own country, Mexico. 

Yet two years as President of the World Editors Forum have afforded me a window through which to experience firsthand the global turmoil that our newsrooms live through. Of course, the political pendulum has continued to swing, allowing some of us to celebrate victories, others to lament defeats.

Throughout it all, we stood strong and kept doing what we know best: good journalism, hoping and believing better days would come. 

And then the world’s richest, most powerful, and globally influential nation tipped over the precipice… 

If the last four months have taught us anything, it is that we have a long four years ahead. 

Never have we seen such a dramatic reversal of principles and abandonment of values on the international stage. It is made all the more shocking, coming as it does from the self-styled leaders of the free world. 

The nature of this global hegemony means we all feel the dramatic effects of the willing, conscious distortion of the concept of rights and freedoms. It is doubly painful coming from the very nation that inspired so many in the modern world to claim these rights and freedoms as their own.

What is to be done? The answer, again, is surely in our journalism. 

To insulate ourselves from the worst of it, to come together in solidarity and resist with the collective voice of an industry, unbowed by the pressures of authoritarianism wherever it raises its head.

To keep believing in the value of good journalism, the vital need for an independent, critical press. To continue holding power to account, and doing everything to keep the light burning as darkness surrounds. 

Our Golden Pen laureates know this only too well.

My tenure as WEF President has coincided with war in Europe, now in its third year – the battleground only a few hundred kilometres to the east of us here today. 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has claimed thousands of lives and devastated the country. It has threatened the advancement of the European project, and severely undermined the established international order.

It is an existential moment for the people of Ukraine, who have no option but to resist until victory comes.

But equally, this has become a profound crisis for the democratic system that has shaped the world since the end of the last global conflict emanating from this continent. It is a crisis that Europe must urgently overcome, seemingly without the support of its long-term ally.

This is not a time to waver in our commitment to facts, purpose, and the values that define our democratic aspirations. 

This is a time to stand on the right side of history, to back truth, justice and the rule of law.

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2025 Golden Pen of Freedom is awarded to the Independent Press of Ukraine.

Our colleagues in the Ukrainian press demonstrate this solid commitment every day, epitomising – through their professionalism and dedication to upholding the highest standards – the responsibility that media has – in wartime, as in peace. 

Yes, to resist the aggressors, but equally, to call to account those leading the resistance, to demonstrate the values they are ultimately defending. In other words, to keep doing their jobs as journalists, despite it all. 

Our organisation has stood shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian colleagues since the outbreak of war. Through long-held friendships with the two leading Ukrainian media associations, we have been able to channel the generous support of WAN-IFRA members precisely where it has been needed most. 

Their guidance and insight comes from supporting independent media on the ground, from the frontlines, amidst the bombing and the destruction, and has in no small way kept the Ukrainian press alive and functioning.

They articulate directly from their own members the urgent needs, the vital resources, the solidarity that is required.

To keep victory in sight, in the headlines, and in the minds of the Ukrainian people. 

I would like to call on Oksana Brovko, CEO of the Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers of Ukraine, and Oleksii Pogorelov, President of the Ukrainian Media Business Association, representing their members – the independent press of Ukraine – to accept the 2025 Golden Pen of Freedom.