The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will award its annual Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on Thursday as a part of the 26th edition of World Press Freedom Day celebrations in the Ethiopian capital.
The $25,000 prize, named after Colombian journalist Guillermo Cano Isaza murdered by two hitmen linked to local drug cartels in 1986, honors a person or an organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence of press freedom.
In April, UNESCO announced that this year’s award would be shared by two Reuters reporters — Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo , who were sentenced to seven years in prison in Myanmar on charges of breaking the country’s secrets law during their journalistic investigation into killings of Rohingya in the state of Rakhine.
Meanwhile, the main celebration of World Press Freedom Day, annually observed on May 3, kicked off on Tuesday.
The event is set to bring together media outlets, professional associations, experts, officials and civil society representatives to discuss threats facing modern journalists.
UNESCO to award Guillermo Cano prize as part of World Press Freedom Day
