The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) held the Southern Africa World Press Freedom Day 2025 Commemoration in South Africa at the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice from 7 to 8 May 2025. The event was organised in partnership with the South African National Commission for UNESCO, Media Monitoring Africa, the Media Institute of Southern Africa, the South African National Editor’s Forum, the Press Council FAIR and the Institute of Global Dialogue in association with the University of South Africa. The event was also attended by representatives from countries in Southern Africa.
World Press Freedom Day, observed on 3 May, was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, following a Recommendation adopted at the 26th session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This was a response to a call by African journalists who produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration in 1991.
UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day annually by bringing together media professionals, press freedom organisations and UN agencies to assess the state of press freedom globally, and to discuss solutions for addressing challenges. It is a day of reflection amongst media professionals regarding issues of press freedom and professional ethics; a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and to defend the media from attacks on their independence; and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of reporting duty.
This year the World Press Freedom Day global commemoration focused on the profound influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on journalism and media under the theme: Reporting in the Brave New World – The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media.
The Southern Africa World Press Freedom Day 2025 Commemoration saw the launch of the Big Tech and Media and Sustainability, a Resource Guide for National Media; the launch of the Social Media 4 Peace Project; the Launch of the M20 Initiative-Global Media Impact; and the launch of the State of Press Freedom Report.