30th IFJ Congress kicks off next week in Tunis

The 30th World Congress of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) will take place 11-14th June in Tunis. Over 300 participants representing journalists unions and associations across the world will attend the Congress which will put the future of journalism in the digital age at the top of its agenda.

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The Congress, which will be the first to be held on the African continent, will kick off on Tuesday 11 with a pre-conference involving top-level debates on three key issues: the future of journalism in the digital age, good trade union practices around the world and the situation of journalism in the Middle East after the Arab Revolutions. All panels will include leading practitioners from around the world.

Delegates will also discuss and adopt a new IFJ Global  Charter of Ethics for Journalists, also known as the Bordeaux Declaration, and which was first adopted in 1954 by the IFJ's World Congress and last amended in 1986.

The latest amendments will take on board ongoing media challenges and encourage journalists to abide by the highest ethical standards at a time when debates over disinformation are raging.

The IFJ, an organisation that today boasts 600,000 members from more than 180 affiliated unions in 140 countries, will actively promote the charter in workplaces and media across the world.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said : "The adoption of the Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists will be a milestone in the history of the IFJ because ethics was one of the IFJ's founding pillars when it was created in Paris in 1926. This new document builds on the professional duties laid down in 1954, but it also puts an emphasis on  rights, in a world where journalists’ rights are being abused. Tomorrow, all journalists around the world will be able to identify themselves with the IFJ Global Charter of Ethics and use it to defend themselves against unscrupulous employers”.  

Delegates will also debate and approve the IFJ 2019-2022 working programme. This roadmap seeks to strengthen the position of the IFJ as the global voice for journalists and journalism and to support its member unions worldwide in their mission to build global solidarity, be at the forefront of struggles to tackle precarious work and abuses of labour rights, lead the fight against impunity for crimes against journalists, mainstream gender equality in media and strengthen the regional organisations of journalists.

Delegates will also elect a new IFJ President and Executive Committee.

More than 60 motions have been tabled for debate, including motions urging action on gender equality in media, the promotion of the UN Convention on the Safety of Journalists, measures to tackle disinformation, the condemnation of the attacks against journalists and press freedom in numerous countries and in defence of collective bargaining for freelancers and journalists’ author’s rights, among others.

IFJ President, Philippe Leruth, said: "The triennial IFJ Congress allows delegates from all over the world to meet, discuss the IFJ working program and elect a new Executive Committee and a new leadership. The Tunis Congress will be historical, as it is the first time the IFJ will hold its congress on the African continent and in an Arab country. It will also provide an opportunity to address  the important challenges facing journalists in a changing media landscape and strengthen the IFJ campaign against impunity surrounding journalists’ murders   ".    

The latest Congress programme is available here.

Follow all news related to the Congress through our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram account through the hashtag #IFJTunis.

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries

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