Press Releases

I welcome you all to the discussion “Protecting Journalists, protecting democracy”, hosted by the Press and Information Office as part of the Council of Europe’s campaign “Journalists matter”, which will run from 2023 to 2027. This campaign is an opportunity for all member states to go a few steps further towards free and pluralistic media, quality news, a healthy media ecosystem, and healthy democratic processes and societies.

As we are all aware, the safety of journalists is recognised at the international level as a precondition for freedom of expression and democracy. That’s why we are grateful that the Council of Europe has trusted the Press and Information Office to launch this campaign, for the protection and safety of journalists, from Cyprus.

Before I give the floor to our speakers, I would like to recall that the decision to carry out a comprehensive campaign at the european level dedicated to the promotion of the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists, was taken at the Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and Information Society which was organised by the Press and Information Office here in Nicosia, in June 2021. At the said Conference, Ministers discussed solutions against the dangerous backsliding in the area of the safety of journalists and with a Resolution renewed their commitment to make the protection of journalists an urgent political priority.

Today, at the launching of the campaign, we are honoured by the presence of Mr Patrick Penninckx, Head of the Information Society Department of the Council of Europe, of Mr Matthew Garnan Galizia, the Director of "The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation", and of Mr Herman Crech, the editor-in-chief of the “Times of Malta” and Director of the play “They Blew he Up”. I would like to ask Mr Patrick Penninckx to take the floor and present us the concept and the objectives of the campaign ‘Journalists Matter’.

Raising awareness and informing the public of the importance of ensuring the safety of journalists is a way to defend the very essence of a pluralistic democracy.

I will now give the floor to Mr Matthew Caruana Galizia. Matthew is a journalist and the Director of "The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation". Inspired by his mother’s journalism and unwavering commitment to the public interest, he continues her fight for press freedom and against corruption and impunity.

We are really honoured that Matthew and a talented group of artists have travelled to Cyprus to perform just for one night, for the launching of the campaign ‘Journalists matter’ in Cyprus and help us spread the message that ‘The Protection of journalists concerns us all’.

Our final guest is Mr Herman Grech, an award-winning journalist and play writer. He is the editor-in-chief of the ‘Times of Malta’ and a prominent campaigner for human rights and anti-hate speech. Herman Grech was among a small number of journalists who investigated the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. He is the director of the play “They Blew Her Up”, which outlines the events surrounding the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, the journalist and anti-corruption activist, through testimonies.

For the video of the discussion press here.

(MV/SCH)