Day 1 (10 November 2022)
Day 1 will be the arrival day for guests. It will be preceded by a training of journalists on the safety of female journalists in Southern Africa. The capacity building workshop will be informed by a study that MISA and UNESCO IPDC are carrying out on online gender-based violence in Southern Africa.
In the evening, MISA and UNESCO will host a gala dinner, where a short presentation will be made on the history of the UNPA and what its objectives are. In addition, the presentation will also focus on the work that has been done to review the UNPA of action to set the tone of the two day conference.
Day 2 (11 November 2022)
The second day will be a day for official speeches with presentations from the government of Zimbabwe, UNESCO officials, MISA and other invited keynote speakers. There will also be solidarity remarks from key players in the region.
The inaugural State of Press Freedom in Africa Report will be launched on the second day. MISA and UNESCO will also launch a draft report on online gender-based violence. The ACHPR Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information will give a keynote speech.
Day 3
The day will mainly be for journalists and civil society, with discussions focusing on the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists. CIPESA will present the final report on the Africa consultations on the UNPA. UNESCO will lead discussions on the recommendations of the Vienna meeting and how these can be adapted to fit the African context.
This will be followed by a plenary discussion that will include MISA, The African Editors Forum, CIPESA, the Media Foundation for West Africa, the Southern Africa Editors Forum IFEX and the Namibia Media Trust. The Association for Progressive Communications will also lead a panel discussion on the UNPA focusing on the safety of female journalists. This follows a meeting that will be hosted by APC and UNESCO in Bangkok Thailand on 3 October.
A work plan on implementation and follow up activities will be drawn up, with recommendations made to the media, CSOs, intergovernmental organisations and governments.
Resolutions will also be adopted on the Third day.
UNESCO will lead a session on the key recommendations that will come out from the review of the UNPA.
Conference output
- Safety Roadmap for Africa in the form of a comprehensive work plan for implementation of UN Plan of Action recommendations beyond 2022
The Safety Roadmap for Africa intends to showcase actions towards the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity beyond 2022 and address gaps in achieving its main targets. It is a tool that aims at encouraging partnerships and alignment of support with recommendations resulting from the regional and sub-regional multistakeholder consultations organized in the summer and fall of 2022 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action. To do this, the roadmap identifies specific roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, including the UN system and other international, regional, and national organizations, as well as the media, civil society, academia and the private sector, with a view to ensuring that the commitments to enhance the safety of journalists in Africa lead to concrete deliverables that would facilitate implementation of the UN Plan of Action and help the region to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063.
Prior to the conference, a mapping will be conducted to gather information on the current and planned actions by various stakeholders. This will allow UNESCO to identify which recommendations are more likely to be met. The information gathered through the mapping will help draft the initial roadmap document, which will be complemented with input from the discussions taking place during the regional IDEI conference, thus producing a comprehensive guiding document addressing all recommendations for needed action in the continent. A focus will be on new and additional initiatives that are specifically tailored to respond to new priorities and trends, as well as gaps insufficiently addressed in the past 10 years. This Roadmap is meant to be a living document and will be updated regularly to reflect progress in the implementation of the UNPA and new initiatives.
More information about IDEI 2022 and UNPA