The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has announced that the 2026 edition of the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference will be held in Lusaka, Zambia, on May 4 and 5, 2026.
Following a recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO and the General Conference in 1991, the World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993. This, in turn, was a response to a call by African journalists who, in 1991, produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration.
UNESCO will be leading preparations for the global Conference, which will be held back-to-back with the RightsCon Summit taking place in Zambia.
May 3 is a date designated to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day, and to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom; evaluate press freedom around the world; to defend the media from attacks on their independence; and pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
The day also serves as a reminder to governments to honour their promise to uphold press freedom. For journalists and media professionals, it is a moment to reflect on the challenges of press freedom and the responsibilities of their work. But it is also a day to stand in solidarity with media outlets facing restrictions or threats, and to remember those courageous journalists who gave their lives in pursuit of the truth.
