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Press freedom in Africa, 30 years after Windhoek

Join us for a new season of the Media Freedom podcast, The Backstory, in which we’ll be exploring challenges facing the media across Africa.

by Andrew Heslop andrew.heslop@wan-ifra.org | May 7, 2021

It’s been 30 years since the Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press was born on May 3, 1991 in Namibia, to support independent media in Africa. The declaration was not only a proud moment for African journalism but inspired the United Nations to launch World Press Freedom Day two years later.

Though some countries across the African continent have made press freedom gains since then, many continue to struggle with journalist safety, independence and financial pressures. In this episode, we look at the press freedom challenges facing African media and what steps are being taken towards improvement.

Featured in this episode:

Angela Quintal: Director of the Africa program, Committee to Protect Journalists

Gwen Lister: Founder, The Namibian

Churchill Otieno: Head of Development & Learning, The Nation; President, Kenya Editors Guild

Joan Chirwa: Founder, The Free Press Initiative, Zambia

 

Andrew Heslop

Executive Director, Press Freedom

andrew.heslop@wan-ifra.org

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