Global Affairs Canada is inviting applications for participation in the second Global Conference for Media Freedom as part of ongoing efforts to protect and promote media freedom worldwide,
The theme for the Conference which will be held virtually on November 16, 2020 is “Media Freedom in the Time of COVID-19.”
Global Affairs Canada recognizes the challenges to media freedom including the global rise in restrictions on press freedom and attacks on journalists and media organizations and the threat to democracy as a result of the rise of populism and authoritarianism, empowered by new technologies that allow for widespread disinformation and repression.
The COVID-19 pandemic, it noted, has exacerbated the challenges faced by the press, including the misuse of emergency measures to undermine press freedom while there is also a need to address threats to media freedom in the digital sphere, including artificial intelligence-enabled technologies which have served to amplify polarization, misinformation and disinformation globally.
Additionally, in both online and offline spaces, female journalists and media professionals face gender-specific risks, such as sexual and gender-based violence, intimidation and harassment. Together, these trends will threaten the health of democracy and human rights. With independent and credible media under growing threat, Global Affairs Canada said, it is more important than ever to stand up together to protect media freedom.
It is to this end that the Global Conference for Media Freedom 2020 will convene a broad group of experts, including foreign ministers, high-level government officials, journalists, media organizations, international organizations, and civil society representatives to help address the challenges to media freedom and promote the health of the global information ecosystem.
The conference will showcase sessions on media freedom and democracy under threat, media freedom and disinformation, and media freedom and COVID-19. It will convene the first Ministerial Meeting of the Media Freedom Coalition, a group of 37 countries committed to working together to advocate for media freedom and the protection of journalists.
Global Affairs Canada, therefore, invites interested stakeholders from around the world join us in its efforts to advance media freedom globally, by participating in the second Global Conference for Media Freedom. Participants will be able to participate in English or French, with simultaneous interpretation provided in both languages.
Participants will be able to contribute to sessions through a live chat feature and they are encouraged to contribute to the conversation and interact with the moderators and panellists through a question and answer period. It noted that the challenges facing media freedom are complex and that there is a need for insights and ideas of the best minds around the world.
The online registration portal will be open from 09:00 EST on October 26, 2020 to 09:00 on November 13, 2020 at https://registration.international.gc.ca. When prompted, applicants should use the invitation code: GCMF2020, to access the registration form.
Applicants are also encouraged to visit the website of the Global Conference for Media Freedomwhich will be updated in the weeks leading to Conference to include a series of policy papers on challenges facing media freedom, the agenda for the conference, and biographies of panellists and moderators.
For enquiries and clarifications, applicants are encouraged to contact the organisers at MediaFreedom-IOR@international.gc.ca.
