WHEREAS, again because of the pandemic, the IAPA Mid-Year Meeting was held in virtual format with the participation of 63 speakers over two and a half days of panels and presentations;
WHEREAS, the mid-year meeting was supported by: John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Google News Initiative, Meta Journalism Program, Protecmedia, Grupo Bolivar, Edward and Karen Seaton, Agencia EFE, Europa Press and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BIE);
WHEREAS, the difficult situation in Nicaragua monopolized a good part of the meeting's attention and, at the initiative of the IAPA, a Nicaraguan Declaration was approved - and subscribed to - by 27 national and international press organizations;
WHEREAS, the concern over the sustainable development of the media in the post-pandemic period occupied a prominent place in the program - with presentations by outstanding speakers on the subject;
WHEREAS, the IAPA President Jorge Canahuati Larach - Grupo Opsa, Honduras - presented the Chapultepec Grand Prize to the Foundation for Freedom of the Press of Colombia (FLIP), and previously IACHR Special Rapporteur Pedro Vaca Villarreal addressed the meeting participants on the main challenges facing press freedom in the hemisphere;
WHEREAS, Tawfik Jelassi - UNESCO's General Director of Communication and Information - delivered a video message to the mid-year meeting highlighting the importance of free and independent media for the development of nations;
WHEREAS, the authorities and officers of the IAPA responded to the call to be present at the meeting and thereby contributed to its success;
WHEREAS, Gabriela Vivanco - La Hora, Ecuador; Carlos Jornet - La Voz del Interior, Argentina; Martín Etchevers - Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Roberto Rock - La Silla Rota, Mexico, served as moderators on panels at the meeting;
WHEREAS, the IAPA working team made an organizational effort to ensure the success of the assembly;
THE IAPA MID-YEAR MEETING RESOLVES
To thank the sponsors of this assembly and other IAPA activities even in times of pandemic: John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Google News Initiative, Meta Journalism Program, Protecmedia, Edward and Karen Seaton, Agencia EFE, Grupo Bolívar, Europa Press, Agence France Presse and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI);
To thank the valuable contribution to this meeting offered by the vice president of Google News, Richard Gringas; Martha Ramos - Alianza, Mexico; Raissa Carrillo - the Foundation for Press Freedom of Colombia (FLIP); Sebastián Pastor - Honduras; and Bia Barbosa - Reporters without Borders Brazil; Anya Schiffrin - Columbia University; Guilherme Canelas de Sousa Godoi - UNESCO; Antonia Kerle - The Economist Impact; Jim Brady - Vice President for Journalism, Knight Foundation; Graciela Mochkofsky - Center for Community Media, CUNY; Werner Ziztmann - Asociación de Medios Informativos (AMI), Colombia; Paul Deegan - NewsMedia Canada; Orlando Silva - Member of Congress, Brazil; Marcelo Rech and Ricardo Pedreira - ANJ; Danielle Coffey - NewsMedia Alliance, USA; Florian Nehm - Axel Springer, Germany; and Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga - former President of Bolivia.
