IAPA all set for its Mid Year Meeting in Caracas
2008 Chapultepec Grand Prize to be presented to Argentine Supreme Court
MIAMI, Florida (March 25, 2008)The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) announced today that preparations are in place for its biannual review of press freedom in the Americas at its Mid Year Meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, this Friday through Sunday.
Nearly 300 newspaper editors, publishers and reporters will examine the state of freedom of the press in each country as the main objective of the meeting, one of two the IAPA holds each year. Discussion of the reports, resolutions and conclusions winds up on Sunday.
On Friday afternoon the IAPA will present its Chapultepec Grand Prize 2008 to the Supreme Court of Argentina in recognition of a ruling handed down on September 5 last year prohibiting the government from discriminating against news media through the arbitrary withdrawal or reduction of official advertising. The award will be received by the Argentine courts chief justice, Ricardo Luis Lorenzetti.
The meeting program includes a Saturday morning panel discussion titled Vision and Role of the Press in the New Latin America, in which prominent journalists from Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela will be taking part.
That afternoon a second panel featuring experts and academics will explore Energy Security Issues in the Hemisphere: Challenges and Opportunities.
Venezuelas President Hugo Chávez, and his communications minister, Andrés Izarra have been invited to the official opening ceremony, which will be held on Monday, two days after the sessions begin. They have not yet confirmed they will attend.
The meeting, held with the support of the Venezuelan Press Bloc is expecting a large turnout of the local press during the meetings which will be held at the Caracas Palace Hotel, located in the Altamira district of the Venezuelan capital.
