The UNESCO Chair on Media Freedom, Journalism Safety and the Issue of Impunity, held by Professor Jackie Harrison, joined UNESCO, the University of Nambia and OsloMet in the organising committee of the 6th Academic Conference on the Safety of Journalists held during the 2021 World Press Freedom Day celebrations.
During the Academic Conference the UNESCO Chair and Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) colleagues Dr Diana Maynard and Dr Sara Torsner presented research on a human rights-based approach to monitoring attacks on journalists in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.10.1. CFOM colleagues Dr Julie Posetti, Dr Diana Maynard and Professor Kalina Bontcheva also presented research on using Natural Language Processing to analyse social media attacks targeting Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa.
The UNESCO Chair and Journalism Safety Research Network (JSRN) also hosted the first #JournoSafe FlashTalks which invites academics and civil society organisations to share research ideas to address problems of the safety of journalists. The FlashTalks is the first in a series of knowledge exchange sessions which will serve as an informal space for representatives from civil society organisations and academic researchers to share thoughts on research ideas and current knowledge gaps related to problems of the safety of journalists.
During the World Press Freedom Day celebrations the UNESCO Chair also participated in the launch of the new UNESCO report “The Chilling: Global trends in online violence against women journalists” authored by Julie Posetti, Nabeelah Shabbir, Diana Maynard, Kalina Bontcheva and Nermine Aboulez.