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World Press Freedom Day
21st anniversary of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, 2014
About this blog
15th July 2019
Dublin, Ireland
Welcome to the first edition of my blog. I intend to use it to share both reflections on important policy issues and some more personal impressions from my experiences here in Dublin and right across the beautiful country of Ireland. Today, however, I would like to focus on the incredibly important topic of media freedom. […]
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3rd May 2019
Gaborone, Botswana
On 2 May, the UK’s Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, addressed the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day celebrations, hosted by the African Union in Addis Ababa. He noted that, in a world where, in 2018 alone, 99 journalists were killed, some of the brightest spots of hope on press freedom were in Africa. The latest World […]
Read more on Defending Media Freedom | Reply
3rd May 2019
Hanoi
World Press Freedom Day is celebrated across the globe on 3 May. We, as Ambassadors of Canada and the UK, believe that free and independent media play a vital role in social and economic prosperity, the protection of human rights and in holding the powerful to account. That is why our two countries have recently […]
Read more on Freedom of expression and press freedom – striking the balance between freedom and regulation | Reply (1)
13th June 2018
London, UK
“If we don’t protect freedom of expression and free press, we will lose democratic values.” I am a free media advocate from Mongolia, working to ensure fellow Mongolians are able to enjoy their right to freedom of expression both on- and offline. I am passionate about the right to enjoy media freedom and for journalists […]
Read more on Media freedom in Mongolia: a Human Rights Defender’s perspective | Reply
3rd May 2018
London, UK
Pat Moynihan famously said, ‘everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.’ Those words have never been more poignant. We’re living through an era where disinformation increasingly cascades through our newsfeeds and across our airwaves. The concept of truth, a fundamental building block for developing consensus and shared understanding is under […]
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3rd May 2016
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Today is World Press Freedom Day. So it was appropriate that I spent Saturday evening at the Sri Lanka Inquirer awards ceremony, an event celebrating the culmination of British High Commission funded training and some of the best recent investigative journalism in Sri Lanka and Maldives. There is no freedom so worth defending as Freedom of […]
Read more on Supporting Press Freedom | Reply
3rd May 2016
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Today is World Press Freedom Day. This is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the importance of freedom of information and to pay tribute to those journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Of course advancing freedom of the press is a global issue, yet I’m struck by how […]
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16th February 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I was pleased on 16 February to visit the editorial offices of Yeni Şafak with a number of EU Consuls-General. We went to Yeni Şafak on a “geçmiş olsun” visit after last week’s attacks on Yeni Şafak and Yeni Akit. This followed similar visits to Hurriyet and Sabah after attacks in 2015. The UK […]
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8th January 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I was proud to be one of a number of Consuls General, who visited the offices of Cumhuriyet on 6 January. We made the following statement, and handed over a signed text: “As representatives of EU consulates based in Istanbul, we wish for Turkish journalists across the whole political spectrum to be able to exercise […]
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13th November 2015
Colombo, Sri Lanka
On 8 November, we gathered at the Liveramentu War Graves in the Torrington Road cemetery for the annual reflection on sacrifice and the horrors of war that is Remembrance Sunday. The Act of Remembrance was as moving as ever. Bright Sri Lankan sunshine reflected off the rows of white headstones. Veterans, children, diplomats and serving […]
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