UNESCO: Inviting applications for ‘Call for proposals for sessions at World Press Freedom Conference 2020’.

Funding brief: UNESCO and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are jointly organizing the World Press Freedom Conference in The Hague on 22-24 April to celebrate the 27th edition of World Press Freedom Day. The hosts call on organizations to submit session proposals before 10 January 2020 and on individuals to pre-register attendance before 06 March 2020.

This year’s conference theme is focused on celebrating independent journalism and standing up against media capture. Media independence is recognized in the Windhoek Declaration as a necessary condition to ensure press freedom. However, persisting and emerging forms of media control hamper press freedom and threaten media independence worldwide.

The conference is taking place within the context of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in the Hague, international city of peace and justice. It will feature high-level speakers from the media, civil society, the arts, the political sphere and the judiciary. The first two days (22-23 April) will be dedicated to debate and exchange in the form of plenary debates and breakout sessions. “Festival Day” on 24 April will encourage creative explorations of the theme, including workshops, performances, film screenings, mentoring sessions and other formats.

The event will also feature the annual WPFD Academic Conference on the Safety of Journalists and a Youth Newsroom, which will involve media students from all over the world covering the event live. One of the highlights of the event will be the award ceremony of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2020, which recognizes a person, organization or institution that has made a notable contribution to the defense and/or promotion of press freedom. Nominations for the prize winner should be submitted to UNESCO by 15 February 2020.

National events to celebrate World Press Freedom Day will be organized around the world on or around 3 May.

Conference Theme: Journalism without Fear or Favour

Donor Name: UNESCO and the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Funding name: Call for proposals for sessions at World Press Freedom Conference 2020

Deadline:
● Deadline for submitting session proposal: 10^th, Jan, 2020
● Deadline for pre-registering: 06^th, March, 2020

Funding details link: Click to view

Funding limit:
● Ensuring the design and planning of a session within this global event.
● Branding amongst the conference supporters.
● Sessions organizers become a partner of the World Press Freedom Conference 2020.
● Gaining access to an exceptional network of prominent international specialists in the fields of media development, journalism and the safety of journalists.
● Being part of the largest celebration of press freedom in the world, which will be a valuable showcase for your organization’s work.
● Partners are awarded benefits, like the display of the logo of the partner, in return for their contribution to the World Press Freedom Conference. The benefits are distributed by the project team. Session organizers can expect their logo on the website, the conference-app and visually displayed at the conference venue.

Special Notes: Please contact with the donor directly for further clarification and understanding.

Project start date: N/A
Project duration: N/A

Eligible organization: As below

Eligibility:
● UNESCO and the Kingdom of the Netherlands invite Dutch and actors in other countries who are active in the fields of journalism, media development and freedom of expression, including freedom of artistic expression, to submit their proposals and contribute to the celebration of WPFD in 2020. Submitters can be civil society organizations, intergovernmental organizations, media, private sector, Internet intermediaries, policy and public affairs institutes, and universities and other knowledge institutions. Joint proposals are particularly encouraged.
● They welcome innovative and engaging proposals that support the main aim of the conference: to ensure that journalists can work free and independently, now and in the future. Key words are multi-stakeholder engagement, being forward-looking and action-oriented, sharing experiences, peer-learning, youth participation, diversity, opinion and debate, coalition building.

Criteria
● Overall relevance to the conference theme and goals. Proposals are judged on their relevance to the theme / subthemes, aims and general spirit of the conference.
● Proposed speakers and moderators. Applicants are encouraged to carefully select appealing speakers and moderators and pay attention to balance in [panel]discussions. For panel sessions, only panels of maximum 4-5 persons are accepted. Persons able to share their own [field] experience are welcomed.
● Innovative format. Out-of-the-box ideas and innovative formats are encouraged (storytelling, team debates, lightning talks, etc.) to ensure interactive and engaging discussions with participation of the audience.
● Diversity. In compliance with UNESCO’s policy, the choice of panelists/ speakers must respect gender balance and diverse geographic representation in all sessions.
● Youth participation. It is strongly recommended to have at least one speaker < 35 years old in each session.
● UNESCO and the Government of the Netherlands as Conference organizers will actively engage with the organizers of sessions, for instance on format, (Dutch) speakers, possible collaborations, etc.

Eligible Country: No country bar found (Open to all regions)

Submission mail: Not found

Other important link:
● Apply: Session Proposal (Click to view) and Pre-register (Click to view)
● About: Click to view
● FAQ: Click to view

How to apply: Interested applicant may apply through the website (Session Proposal (Click to view) and  Pre-register (Click to view)).

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