The ICT4Peace Foundation is pleased to announce that Mr. Alain Modoux, former Assistant Director General of UNESCO and founding member of the ICT4Peace Foundation Board has been honoured for his lifelong support to free, independent and pluralistic journalism at the “Pan African Conference on Access to Information” held at Rhodes University in Cape Town. Mr. Modoux also played a seminal role in initiating and for championing the Windhoek Declaration of 9 May 1991 on free, independent and pluralistic journalism through the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO.
The Windhoek Declaration was also an important building block for the adoption of, inter alia, the paragraph 4 and 55 regarding freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of the press and information, as well as the independence, pluralism and diversity of media of the UN World Summit on the Information Society in 2003 (Geneva Declaration of Principles).
Nine important Africa media organisations have co-signed in Cape Town the following certificate to honour Alain Modoux:
“The Working-Group Windhoek + 20 Coalition salutes Alain Modoux for his seminal role in initiating the 1991 Windhoek conference on free, independent and pluralistic journalism and for championing the Windhoek Declaration through the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO. Your sterling efforts helped produce a conference resolution that continues to resonate today, particularly in the form of World Press Freedom Day – a benefit for both journalists and the global public. In this way, you Alain Modoux have helped to give life to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone shall enjoy the right to freedom of expression which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas.”
