GFMD written statement for the 2020 High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development

Global Forum for Media Development, in the capacity of an organisation with special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has submitted a written statement as an input for the High-Level Segment (HLS) of ECOSOC and the three-day ministerial meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF) held from 14 July to 16 July, 2020.

The statement was approved and published in a compilation of written statements by Non-Governmental Organisations in consultative status with ECOSOC and can be accessed here. The 2020 ECOSOC HLS was guided by the 2020 High-level Political Forum (HLPF) theme of “Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development“.

In its written submission, GFMD emphasises that the demand for public-interest media has never been greater and more urgent than during the COVID-19 crisis and that trustworthy information is one of the key pillars required to slow the pandemic, to mitigate its impacts, and to underpin collective societal responses to it. GFMD also reinforces that the public access to information, one of the key indicators of Sustainable Development Goal 16, has become even more vital for enduring, managing, and overcoming the global crisis.

The written submission was based on the collaborative efforts and joint positions of GFMD members, partner organisations, and coalitions which GFMD is a part of, that were consolidated into a more comprehensive joint emergency appeal in response to COVID-19. The appeal, published to mark World Press Freedom Day 2020, was an overwhelming success, having been signed by more than 175 organisations, and continues to act as a foundation for GFMD advocacy.

GFMD was formally granted special consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 24 July 2018. UN consultative status makes it easier for member organisations to participate in UN processes and apply for, as well as receive, project funding at the local, regional, and global levels from UN agencies, grant-making initiatives, and donor countries.