World Press Freedom Day 30th Anniversary – Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights.
Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration.
On World Press Freedom Day 2023, UNESCO will organize a special anniversary event at UN headquarters in New York, marking the 30 years since the UN General Assembly’s decision proclaiming an international day for press freedom.
This anniversary edition of World Press Freedom Day will include a full day of activities at the UN Headquarters on 2nd May. Partners from the media, academia, and civil society are invited to organize events in New York and around the world centered on this year’s theme.
Live Webcast2 May 2023
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
The Prize will be awarded to the 2023 laureate on the evening of 2 May at The Shed.
New York City will be the venue of around 40 events dedicated to press freedom from 1 – 4 May. The events are organized by the World Press Freedom Day’s community including civil society organizations, universities, media freedom networks and other New York-based and international organizations.
World Press Freedom Day celebrations will also take place in local, national or regional events around the world.
WPFD 2023 – Celebrations around the world
Press Freedom events in New York City
Everything is alright
For this #WorldPressFreedomDay, we are encouraging everyone to publish a single message: “Everything is alright.”
Because if everything is alright in the news, then something is wrong with journalism. And when journalism is compromised, we cannot protect human rights.
Download the print ads and messages for social media and post them on 3 May.
Cartoons for Freedom of Expression
Browse the selection of this year’s UNESCO and Cartooning for Peace “Cartoons for freedom of expression” series – which this year has the New Yorker as a special guest!
Get Involved
3 May acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.
Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration.
