Sweden strengthens its commitment to freedom of speech and media development in UNESCO
Press release from the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO:
Lars Tallert, development manager at the Media Institute Fojo, has been appointed Swedish representative on the board of the UN body UNESCO’s programme for media development IPDC (International Programme for Media Development).
"Lars Tallert can contribute with a lot to UNESCO's important work with freedom of speech and media development and I'm convinced that Sweden now will continue to be a strong voice within IPDC. The fact that Tallert has worked many years with international media development gives him a unique understanding of both the threats and challenges that freedom of speech faces across the world and he will be an important resource in IPDC's work", says Mats Djurberg, secretary-general at the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO.
"Disinformation, hate and threats are becoming increasingly common across the world and, at the same time, the room for quality journalism is shrinking. At IPDC, I look forward to establishing links between policy and action – the challenge is to put theory into practice", says Tallert of his new commission.
IPDC is tasked with contributing to a sustainable development and democracy by strengthening, primarily in developing countries, the development of digital media and press. Press and freedom of speech are prioritised questions for UNESCO and Sweden was allotted one of the 25 seats on IPDC's board at UNESCO's general conference in November 2017. Sweden will be a member of the board until autumn 2021.
Contact: Kari Gardelin, communications officer at the Swedish National Commission for UNESCO, +4670-287 28 39.