To commemorate World Press Freedom Day, Kectil-PNG in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held a panel discussion to talk about media in the country and the role youths play in the media industry.
The Theme for the panel discussion was, ‘Empowering youth voices: the role of young people in upholding press freedom and government accountability’
Panelists of the night included UNDP Chief Technical Advisor – Anti corruption Dr Alma Sedlar, INDESCO Founder and Consultant Bryan Earles, Jonathan Holingu from the PNG Law Society, GBV Advocate Hennah Joku and Moderator Bronwyn Kili.
INDESCO Founder and Consultant, Bryan Earles, spoke about media freedom in PNG and how Journalists actually feel towards freedom of speech.
“Journalists don’t feel protected even though there are principles in place, that’s the reality.”
Jonathan Holingu from the PNG Law Society, threw into discussion freedom of information. He touched on Section 46 and 51 of the PNG Constitution.
According to Section 46 Freedom of Expression, every person has the right to freedom of expression and publication, except to the extent that the exercise of that right is regulated or restricted by a law. In Section 51 Freedom of Information, every citizen has the right of reasonable access to official documents, subject only to the need for such secrecy as is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society in respect of several matters.
PNG currently does not have a policy in place for freedom of information, however Holongu reached out to the Department of Information and Communication Technology and found out that DICT is currently in its final stages to implementing this policy.
“I received information from the Secretary of DICT yesterday and he mentioned that there is a draft for a policy in place for journalists to access information. He said it has been approved by the State Solicitor and will go to the National Executive Council for approval. Once it comes into existence than we should have a policy that allows for access for information.”
Furthermore, Minister for Information and Communication Technology, Timothy Masiu, advised the public on the progress of the Media Policy and the Freedom of Information Policy during the Media Freedom Day celebration at the University of PNG.
“The Media Policy and the Freedom of Information Policy that is in drafting demonstrates this Government’s commitment to supporting initiatives that promote press freedom and media development in the country,” Masiu said.