Miami (September 20, 2023) - The Inter American Press Association announced today that it has invited Mexican President Manuel Andrés López Obrador and presidential aspirants Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez to its 79th General Assembly to be held in November.
The organization has also requested the signature of the presidential candidates to the Declaration of Chapultepec, a fundamental document on freedom of expression that presidents, heads of state and political leaders of the Americas have endorsed.
In addition, the IAPA announced the preliminary program for the assembly, which includes several panels on the most recent experiences of the media industry, along with security for journalists, gender inclusion, and freedom of expression issues in the Americas.
Special attention will be given to the impact of philanthropy on journalism. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation president, Alberto Ibargüen, will receive the IAPA Great Friend of the Press Award for the organization's recent contribution to a $500 million fund to strengthen local journalism in the United States.
The IAPA Executive of the Year Award will be presented to The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina's editor, for a program to support investigative journalism through the financial support of its readers and other benefactors.
The founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, will give one of the presentations entitled "Freedom of expression is the condition for freedom of enterprise." The president of the Host Committee, Luciano Pascoe, of the digital media adn40, will speak on "The challenge of brevity and the arrival of infotainment to make news more attractive." A panel with Unesco officials will address "Electoral processes and violence against the press."
The 79th IAPA General Assembly will be held in Mexico City from November 9 to 12. It will be held at the Hilton Reforma Hotel. This is the preliminary program for the event. Registrations can be made here.
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.
