The third annual event of Media and Democracy in the Americas will convene journalists, defenders of the freedom of expression, and representatives of academia from Latin America and the United States to discuss turbulent times that affect journalism in the hemisphere. Fundamedios, the Inter-American Dialogue, and the Institute for Advanced Studies of the University of Miami are co-organizers of the event. This year, the conference will analyze the challenges that confront journalists, as well as the status of the freedom of press in the hemisphere.
Subjects will revolve around the experiences of Hispanic journalists in the US, including those who work on the southern border. The analysis will develop within the framework of the stigmatizing discourse of President Donald Trump and other public authorities.
The conference is supported by the Knight Foundation, the School of Communication of the University of Miami, Open Society Foundations, Institute of Race and Equality, Univisión, Border Center for Journalists and Bloggers, National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the OAS Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Internews, and the Interamerican Press Association.
The conference will take place on Wednesday, March 18 in the Kislak Center at the University of Miami. It will be an opportunity to reflect on the wave of mass citizen protests that ignited in various Latin American countries, and where the media was one of the biggest targets. 200 attacks against the press were registered In just Colombia, Ecuador and Chile.
Fernando del Rincón (CNN), Patricia Janiot (Univisión), Melissa Cabrera (IACHR-OAS), Anabel Hernández (investigative journalist and Mexican writer), Jacqueline Rodas (Ecuavisa, Ecuador), Mauricio Weibel (La Clínica, Chile), Raúl Peñaranda (La Brújula Digital, Bolivia), Edison Lanza (Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression for the IACHR, OAS), Hilda Fernández de Ortega (Universidad de las Américas Puebla), Clay Ewing (University of Miami), Abigail Hernández (Periodistas y Comunicadores Independientes de Nicaragua), Andrés Cañizalez (Medianálisis, Venezuela), Miguel Garcés (Universidad Tecnológica de Cartagena, Colombia), Hugo Balta (NAHJ), Tamoa Calzadilla (Univisión), Jorge Luis Sierra (Border Center for Journalists and Bloggers), Pablo Arcuri (Internews), Michael Camilleri (Inter-American Dialogue), César Ricaurte, Frank LaRue and Dagmar Thiel (Fundamedios) will address the importance of informing citizens about the threats to freedom of the press, as well as the responses from governments, media, academics, and civil society in order to understand the role of journalists.
Media and Democracy in the Americas III will take place, for the first time in its series, in Miami, Florida. The city is one of the epicenters of journalism in Spanish.
In the context of the conference, on Thursday, March 19, there will be a training on fundamental rules of digital safety. The training will take place in the classrooms of the School of Communication of the University of Miami and will be open to the general public.
Location: Kislak Center at the University of Miami
1300 Memorial Drive
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
Days: Wednesday, March 18, 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday, March 19, 9:00 am – 11:00 am
The event is free upon registration HERE.
