The Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers will join with the UNESCO office for the Caribbean based in Jamaica in observing World Press Freedom Day at a conference being hosted in Curacao from May 2-5. Seventeen Caribbean countries will be represented.
The conference and workshops will focus on this year's WPFD theme: “Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of Expression in All Media.”
Full statement here.
The Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM) joins with the Guyana Press Association (GPA) in expressing grave concern that the assigning of radio and television broadcasting frequencies in Guyana has not been in keeping with best regulatory practice for the sector and poses a real and present danger to freedom of expression in general and press freedom in particular.
Full statement here.
Calling for the Abolition of ‘Insult Laws’ and Criminal Defamation Legislation in the Caribbean, and for the Support of Strong, Free and Independent Media. The members of the International Press Institute (IPI), meeting at their 61st Annual General Assembly during the IPI World Congress from 23 to 26 June, 2012 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago,
Note that media outlets across the wider Caribbean may be subjected to a panoply of
repressive measures, from jailing and persecution to the widespread scourge of ‘insult laws’ and criminal defamation, which are sometimes used by the powerful to prevent critical appraisal of their actions and to deprive the public of information about misdeeds,...
.
Full document here.
The Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM) has been elected to the Council of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange(IFEX)and its 5-member Executive Committee.
The Trinidad-based organisation was elected during the Biennial General Meeting of IFEX in Beirut, Lebanon on May 31.
ACM President, Wesley Gibbings, will serve alongside representatives from 11 national, regional and international organisations from North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
Full release can be found here.
The ACM launches its Election Handbook for Caribbean Journalists to critical acclaim in both international and regional fora and has been designed by journalists
for journalists.
The handbook was researched, written and designed by the Association of Caribbean MediaWorkers (ACM) with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), Eugenio Maria de Hostos Law School, Puerto Rico, the Austin Forum of the Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas, and the United Nations Information Centre for the Caribbean Area.
The publication is meant to serve as a practical resource
in equipping journalists to meet public and professional
expectations for superior election coverage.
The editorial team was led by Lennox Grant and Wesley
Gibbings and included: Peter Richards, Vernon Daley,
Raoul Pantin, Naylan Dwarika, Sheila Velez Martinez and
Tony Deyal.
IFEX