The Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) joins the rest of the world in marking World Press Freedom Day 2019 with the hope and wish that the freedoms enjoyed generally in the Caribbean remain strong and healthy for the support of our democracies.

In this the 26th year of recognizing World Press Freedom Day, the CBU embraces the United Nations theme for the year, “Media and Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation”.

The theme is particularly relevant to us in the region where we consistently choose our government through democratic means. As we reflect on the theme, we urge all governments to keep the healthy tradition of encouraging media to witness, report on, and underpin the democratic process through strong journalism in our countries.

At the same time, we acknowledge that political parties’ use of disinformation is real and prominent in many of our Caribbean societies.

We urge caution with the development of a culture of disinformation, as our societies depend on credible and relevant information from our media and authority figures, especially in times of crisis through natural events such as hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanic activities, all of which impact our region.

On this World Press Freedom Day therefore let us commit to sharing credible information, shun disinformation and continue to build our democracies through strong press freedom and energetic journalism via the media.

Gary Allen

President