Miami (December 10, 2021) - Justice operators and journalists from 18 Latin American countries graduated from the Freedom of Expression and press freedom diploma. This course is part of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).
Experts from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB) of Venezuela, an IAPA partner in the Chapultepec Index project, designed and carried out both courses, which lasted three months. The training deals with freedom of the press and freedom of expression in the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Human Rights System and its relationship with democracy.
The Chapultepec Index is an annual measurement tool of institutional performance in 22 countries in the American hemisphere, according to the principles of the IAPA Chapultepec (1994) and the IAPA Salta (2018) declarations. The project has the sponsorship of Grupo and Fundación Bolívar, Grupo Sura from Colombia, and the Edward and Karen Seaton Foundation from the United States.
"This learning helps justice operators to have more tools to analyze situations in which the principles of freedom of expression and press come into conflict with other social values," said Carlos Jornet, chairman of the IAPA's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information.
Jornet, the editor of Argentina's La Voz del Interior, added that thanks to these courses, "journalists become more aware of these values, which they must defend and promote during their professional careers."
León Hernández, a member of the team of professors coordinating the courses and the Chapultepec Index, said, "We are proud to be creating a new network of graduates that allows the continuous exchange of news and analysis, on press freedom."
The courses are free of charge and have already benefited more than 70 media professionals. In this edition, justice operators and journalists from 18 countries participated: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Paraguay, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Registration for a new course for journalists will be open soon.
IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere; and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.