WPF Day 2007

Ambassador McCulley Addresses Malian Journalists On World Press Freedom Day, May 03, 2007

U.S. Embassy in Bamako Observes World Press Freedom Day

On May 3, 2007, in observance of World Press Freedom Day, the U.S. Embassy in Bamako sponsored a conference at the Malian press association Maison de la Presse on the subject of the "Role of Journalists in Malian Society."  Ambassador Terence McCulley opened the conference with a speech praising Mali's preeminent rankings in terms of press freedom in sub-Saharan Africa and encouraging Malian journalists to use this freedom responsibly.

This conference in Mali was one of many sponsored by the United States government in observance of World Press Freedom Day.   

The State Department’s Jonathan Farrar, principal deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, held a May 3 webchat about U.S. efforts to support a free press around the world.

In announcing the webchat, the State Department said that free media are “one of the pillars of democracy” and that Farrar’s bureau is “committed to supporting and promoting democracy programs throughout the world dealing with press freedom as well as election monitoring, parliamentary development and related issues.”  Farrar’s bureau also devotes a section of its annual Human Rights Report to press freedom. (more)