IFJ Wins New Award For Defence of Press Freedom and Journalists’ Rights

The International Federation of Journalists has received a prestigious Italian press freedom award – the second prize in six months in recognition of the Federation’s campaigning for journalists’ rights.

On 27 February, IFJ General Secretary Aidan White received the award, supported by the historic city of Siena, from the city’s Mayor in the prestigious Mappamondo Room of the Public Palace with special recognition of the IFJ’s fight for the rights of Palestinian journalists and its campaign for justice for the journalists killed during the Iraq war. In October the IFJ also received an award from the Red Cross in Croatia for its defence of journalists’ rights in the Balkan region in recent years.

“These awards are a recognition that solidarity forms an essential part of the democratic struggle for truth, justice and respect for journalists’ rights,” said White. “Without it there can be no press freedom.”

Earlier, White joined Italian journalists in Rome to mark the launch of the Italian translation of the IFJ’s Live News: the Journalists’ Survival Guide, which has been translated into seven languages since its launch last year. Italian journalists supported by the group Informazione Senza Frontiere (ISF) have also launched a postcard campaign for justice for journalists in Iraq, noting that more than 30 media staff have been killed since the war started almost a year ago. See www.italian.it/isf

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The IFJ represents over 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries