UN Days, Weeks and Years > International Days and Weeks

World Press Freedom Day

Suggested Activities for World Press Freedom Day

· For students: put out a newspaper in your school and write about different Freedom of the Press issues. For example, write a story on journalists who have been punished for what they have written and on what can be done to help them. Find out information on these subjects on UNESCO's and the World Association of Newspapers' World Press Freedom Day websites: www.unesco.org/press-freedom-day/ and www.fiej.org.

· Find out about current Freedom of the Press issues in Canada from the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (www.cjfe.org) and Advocates in Defence of Expression in the Media (www.adidem.org). Hold a debate on one of the issues, and discuss how sometimes the right to freedom of expression can seem to conflict with other rights, such as the right to personal privacy or the right to not be discriminated against.

· Write a letter to your local newspaper drawing attention to World Press Freedom Day and why it is important.

· Get your friends and classmates to write about an incident when they felt that they had lost their right to free expression. How did they feel? What did they think could be done about it? Include some of these stories in a school or community newspaper.

· The International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) publishes World Press Freedom Day events in its weekly publication, the Communiqué. Check the Communiqué on-line in the weeks leading up to May 3rd to see if there are any events going on in your region that you can attend, or have an event that you are organizing written up. The website is http://communique.ifex.org.

· Ask a well-known journalist from your community to speak at your school about Freedom of the Press issues.

· Become a member of PEN Canada to keep informed about freedom of expression issues (visit their website at www.pencanada.ca).