Joint dialogue to commemorate Media Freedom Day

16 Oct 2009

Members of the media are invited to a joint dialogue in Johannesburg on Monday, 19 October 2009, hosted by the Media Development and Diversity Agency, Commission on Gender Equality, SABC, South African Human Rights Commission and Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, to commemorate Media Freedom Day.

Black Wednesday

October 19 is a very important day on South Africa's liberation struggle calendar as it is the commemoration of Black Wednesday, a day on which three newspapers - The World, Weekend World, and Pro Veritate - were banned in 1977 by the apartheid regime.

In addition, scores of people including Percy Qoboza, then editor of The World and the former editor of the Sowetan, Dr Aggrey Klaaste, were detained on this day.

The first democratic elections in South Africa, held in 1994, brought the South African Constitution that is hailed and celebrated all over the world for its progressive stance on freedom of expression, equality and access to information. Despite this, serious concerns and challenges remain in respect of the transformation of the country's media landscape.

Media ownership, control and transformation

As a result of this state of affairs, the MDDA, CGE, SABC, SAHRC and ICASA will hold a joint seminar to interrogate and reflect on progress that has been made thus far in dealing with issues relating to media ownership, control and transformation.

This event will draw together various experts and interested parties who are expected to share their insights and recommend a way forward on how to deal with critical issues such as media ownership. The minister of women, children and people with disability, Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, will deliver the keynote address.

Details