Miami (September 16, 2009)—An Emergency Forum on Freedom of Expression sponsored by 17 international and national press and communication organizations to be held this Friday (September 18) in Caracas, Venezuela, will include four discussion panels that will deal with the main problems facing press freedom and free speech nationally and regionally in the Western Hemisphere.
The one-day event, to be held at the Centro Lido Hotel in the Venezuelan capital, will be officially opened by IAPA President Enrique Santos Calderón, editor of the Bogotá, Colombia, newspaper El Tiempo, to be followed by Gonzalo Marroquín, the IAPA’s 2nd vice president, editor of Prensa Libre of Guatemala City, Guatemala, who will speak on “Freedom of the Press in a Difficult Situation: The Main Problems in the Western Hemisphere.”
The first panel discussion, at 10:00 a.m., titled “Freedom of Expression in the Hemispheric Context,” will feature keynote addresses by former Bolivian President Carlos Mesa and former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo and will be moderated by Robert Rivard, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, editor of the San Antonio Express-Texas, Texas.
This will be followed at 11:30 a.m. by a roundtable titled “Regional Threats to Press Freedom,” with the participation of Luis Pardo Sainz, president of the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB); Benjamín Fernández, representing the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ); Ricardo Pedreira, executive director of the National Association of Newspapers of Brazil (ANJ), and Jaime Mantilla, president of the Ecuadorean Newspaper Publishers Association (AEDEP) and editor and publisher of the Quito newspaper Hoy. The moderator will be Juan Luis Correa of the Panama newspapers La Estrella and El Siglo.
In the afternoon session scheduled for 2:30 p.m. is the panel discussion “Analysis of Cases of National Study” which will feature David Natera, president of the Venezuelan Press Bloc (BPV) and editor of the Puerto Ordaz newspaper El Correo del Caroní; Marcel Granier, president of Venezuelan television channel RCTV, Marco Antonio Dipp, president of the Bolivian National Press Association (ANP) and editor of the Correo del Sur, and Carlos Besanson of the Association of Argentine News Entities (ADEPA) and editor of the Diario del Viajero. The discussion will be moderated by Gustavo Bell, editor of the Barranquilla, Colombia, newspaper El Heraldo and representative of the Association of Colombian Newspapers (ANDIARIOS).
The forum will wind up with a 4:00 p.m. roundtable on “The Future of Freedom of Expression in Venezuela,” in which Miguel Henrique Otero, editor and publisher of the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, is to make a special presentation. Taking part as panelists will be Alberto Federico Ravell, executive director of the local television channel Globovisión; Gloria Cuenca, a Venezuelan academic expert in Press Ethics and Legislation; Rafael Poleo, editor of the Caracas newspaper El Nuevo País, and Manuel Caballero, a columnist with the Venezuelan daily El Universal. Venezuelan lawyer and writer Asdrúbal Aguiar will serve as moderator.
Scheduled for 5:30 p.m., is the presentation of the forum’s conclusions and the holding of a press conference.
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Venezuelan Press Bloc (BPV) are the forum’s organizers. Also sponsoring are the following international organizations: International Association of Broadcasting (IAB); World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN/IFRA); International Center for Journalists (ICFJ); Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ); World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC); International Federation of Journalists (FIP), and International Press Institute (IPI), and national press organizations: Association of Colombian Newspapers (ANDIARIOS); Association of Argentine Press Entities (ADEPA); Ecuadorean Association of Newspaper Publishers (AEDEP); Mexican Editors and Publishers Association (AME); National Press Association, Bolivia (ANP); National Press Association, Chile (ANP); National Association of Newspapers, Brazil (ANJ), and Peruvian Press Council (CPP).
