The PPF’s 7th edition will take place on 11 and 12 November 2024. The theme chosen this year by the PPF is “Wanted: A Functioning Global Order”. The Forum will gather experts and stakeholders from around the world to discuss the need for effective international governance in a world marked by great power rivalries and global instability. Once again, FPI as one of the PPF’s strategic partners will be taking an active part in this annual Forum, underlining its full commitment to promoting multilateralism, as its Director Peter M. Wagner explains: “This event enables us to meet a large number of our partners and discuss the issues at stake, in particular the growing number of conflicts in the world that cannot be resolved without international cooperation”.
Journalists covering conflicts are increasingly targeted by violence, intimidation, kidnappings, arbitrary detention, and restrictions on their ability to exercise their profession. War reporting is a necessary but high-risk profession, which is why FPI is co-organising a debate that will focus on media access in conflict zones with a panel of journalists that will share their experience and the difficulties they face in pursuing their profession in the context of modern warfare.
The public will be given an opportunity to exchange views with these war correspondents and to understand how they can both provide information and protect their integrity. “The idea is to bring together a panel of experienced journalists to share their experiences of navigating hostile terrain, coping with being targeted and reporting on conflicts where access is increasingly restricted” explains Ana Lukic, Team leader crisis response and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), FPI.
The panel will also address growing concerns about disinformation and fake news. “For FPI, this subject is very important, underlines Peter M. Wagner. That’s why we work all over the world supporting and defending independent media and tackling issues such as disinformation and the fight against fake news”. One example of such work is Studio Tamani, a daily radio news and debate programme about Mali, produced by a team of 30 independent journalists based in Bamako and a network of 45 correspondents throughout the country. Studio Tamani's editorial team also regularly takes on student journalists, helping to train a new generation of Malian journalists on ethical and professional principles.
Finally, journalists will discuss non-compliance with laws and conventions on the protection of journalists in war zones. The panel will analyse the erosion of the legal protection of journalists, which is defined by several conventions, resolutions and recommendations, the strength and scope of which should serve as a principle of protection for war journalists. “We must continue to support these laws to make it clear that there is a consensus that attacks on journalists are not permitted, insists FPI’s Director. “It is also essential that combatants involved in wars are aware of the legal reality. So, we organise training for combatants to become familiar with international humanitarian law, which includes the protection of journalists”.
The panel will take place on 11 November 2024 (12:15-13:00). It will be moderated by Comfort Ero, President and CEO of the International Crisis Group, with the participation of Annette Weber, the European Union Special Representative for the Horn of Africa, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Ukrainian human rights lawyer and defender, Ben Solomon, documentary filmmaker, director of photography and war correspondent, Zeinab Mohammed Salih, Sudanese journalist and Shayda Hessami, Founder and General Director of Aide Humanitaire et Journalisme.
Details
- Publication date
- 8 November 2024
- Author
- Service for Foreign Policy Instruments