The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, created in 1997, honours a person,
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
or
institution
Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...
that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of
press freedom
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...
anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of
danger
Danger is a lack of safety and may refer to:
Places
* Danger Cave, an archaeological site in Utah
* Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank, Indian Ocean
* Danger Island, alternate name of Pukapuka Atoll in the Cook Islands, Pacific Ocean
* Danger Isla ...
.
The prize, worth
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
25,000, is awarded each year on the occasion of
World Press Freedom Day
The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right ...
on 3 May.
The prize is named after
Guillermo Cano Isaza
Guillermo Cano Isaza (12 August 1925 – 17 December 1986) was a Colombian journalist.
Biography
Guillermo Cano was the heir of Fidel Cano Gutiérrez, the founder of ''El Espectador''. As a journalist, he had worked on the paper's bullfight ...
, the
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
of the
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
''
El Espectador
''El Espectador'' (meaning "The Spectator") is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in MedellÃn and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It changed from a daily to a weekly editio ...
,'' who was murdered in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
on 17 December 1986. Cano was a vocal critic of the country's powerful drug barons.
Each year, an independent jury of six news professionals selected by the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Director-General selects a winner from the many nominations submitted by
non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s working in the field of press freedom, and by UNESCO Member States. The jury remains in charge for a period of three years, renewable once.
The anti-mafia italian journalist
Marilù Mastrogiovanni serve as Chair of the jury in 2021.
Other members of the Jury are:
* Wendy Funes (Honduras), investigative journalist;
* David Dembele (Mali), Editor-in-chief of the Depêche du Mali/L’Investigateur;
*
Hamid Mir
Hamid Mir ( ur, Øامد میر; born 23 July 1966) is a Pakistani journalist, columnist and writer. Born in Lahore to a journalistic family, Mir initially worked as a journalist with Pakistani newspapers. He has hosted the political talk show ' ...
(Pakistan), Executive Editor of Geo Television Pakistan;
* Alfred Lela (Albania), Political Analyst on News 24 and Founder and Director of Politiko;
*
Zainab Salbi
Zainab Salbi (Arabic: زينب سلبي; born 1969) is an Iraqi American women's rights activist and writer. She is the co-founder of Women for Women International and host of ''Through Her Eyes'' with Yahoo! News and '' #MeToo, Now What?'', PBS ...
(Iraq), As a journalist, she created and hosted several shows including: #MeToo, Now What? on PBS (2018)
Award Winners
See also
*
World Press Freedom Day
The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right ...
*
William O. Douglas Prize
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unesco Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize
Guillermo
Guillermo () is the Spanish form of the male given name William. The name is also commonly shortened to 'Guille' or, in Latin America, to nickname 'Memo'. People
*Guillermo Amor (born 1967), Spanish football manager and former player
*Guillermo Arà ...
Journalism awards
Free expression awards