#CaseStudy
UNESCO Chair in Media Freedom, Journalism Safety and the Issue of Impunity at the University of Sheffield
What are #CaseStudies?
The UK National Commission for UNESCO’s case studies are a series of studies that focus on specific interactions between UNESCO’s programmes, designations and objectives and the UK
UNESCO Chair in Media Freedom, Journalism Safety and the Issue of Impunity at the University of Sheffield
PUBLISHED 25 JUNE 2020
This case study is featured as part of a number of examples relating to the National Value of UNESCO to the UK report
On World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2020, the theme was Journalism without Fear or Favour.
This annual international day acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom, a day of reflection among media professionals about issue of press freedom and professional ethics, a day to show support for journalists and their safety as they do their job, and a day of remembrance for those journalists who have lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
On this day, Professor Jackie Harrison, who leads the UNESCO Chair in Media Freedom, Journalism Safety and the Issue of Impunity at the University of Sheffield, wrote about the crucial role of free and independent journalism grounded in truth and fact and how it is crucial to remedying Covid-19 disinformation.
There are fears that Covid-19 will allow governments to forgo their commitments to the public’s right to know, and regimes will use the crisis to roll back on personal freedoms and media freedom, and that there is a torrent of misinformation being spread around the pandemic.
Professor Harrison is also the Chair and Co-Founder of the Centre for Freedom of the Media (CFOM) at the University of Sheffield. Two of her colleagues, Dr Julia Posetti, Global Director of Research at the International Center for Journalists, and Professor Kalina Bontcheva, Head of the Natural Language Processing Research Group at the Department of Computer Science, have written two new UNESCO Policy Briefs that assess the worrying extent of misinformation that has accompanied the Covid-19 crisis. The research was produced in partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).
This case study is featured as part of a number of examples relating to the National Value of UNESCO to the UK report
ISSN 2050-8212 (Print)
Discover the National Value Programme
The 2020 National Value for UNESCO to the UK Report & Programme
The National Value Report seeks to capture the economic and wider intangible value of the UK network of UNESCO designations. It finds that the network is adding significant value to our economy and society and recommends how this value can be enhanced.
The National Value of UNESCO Designations to the United Kingdom Report shows how UNESCO is bringing sites, people and communities together, and creating and delivering value for the United Kingdom. It finds that the vibrant network of UNESCO sites in the UK, its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are contributing in three main areas: they contribute financial value, they make a rich and creative contribution to the UK’s environment, culture and communities and contribute to the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
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Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts
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Professor Alan Smith, UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy
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The Scottish International Storytelling Festival at UNESCO Creative City of Literature Edinburgh
The 2020 National Value for UNESCO to the UK Report & Programme Case Studies
The case studies that form this series illustrate the benefits to the UK that are contributed by the vibrant Network of UK UNESCO sites as found by the National Value Report; featuring financial value, academic research, environmentalism and climate change, promotion and preservation of culture, education and more.
PUBLISHED 25 JUNE 2020