UNESCO supports ‘Together for Peace Media Awards’ at 7th Media Summit on Climate Action and Disaster Prevention in Maldives
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) presented this year’s ‘Together for Peace Media Awards’ (T4P Media Awards) at the 7th ABU Media Summit on Climate Action and Disaster Prevention, which was graciously hosted by the Government of the Republic of Maldives from 9 through 10 May 2023
The 2nd ABU Together4Peace Media Awards, granted this year in the categories of ‘TV’, ‘Radio’ and ‘Digital’, highlight innovative media content in areas of commitment shared by ABU and UNESCO:
1) Transformative education through media, cultural, and community activities
2) Living ethically and sustainability on a shared planet
3) Living well with super diversity, including overcoming hate speech, discrimination, and oppression in all its forms
ABU constitutes the largest broadcasting union in the world, its membership roster boasting 70 public broadcasters collectively reaching audiences in the millions throughout Asia and the Pacific.
UNESCO and ABU established the ‘Together for Peace Media Awards’ (T4P Media Awards) as a joint undertaking to foster global awareness of UNESCO’s fundamental peace mandate. Today UNESCO promotes a concept of ‘positive peace’, whereby public and independent journalism and civic media literacy can play a central role in building peace in the minds of men and women locally, regionally, and globally, and in a world of ever burgeoning ‘super diversity’.
In a celebratory message, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information Dr Tawfik Jelassi stated:
Peace means more than the absence of conflict. Positive Peace requires the presence of justice, universal access to knowledge and information, and freedom of media professionals to exercise their job.
The Republic of Maldives, a UN ‘Small Island Developing State’ with ground surfaces no higher than 3 meters above sea level, is at great and evermore unpredictable disaster risk, with a precipitous rise in the global sea level attributed primarily to climate change.
UNESCO representatives from the Bangkok and Jakarta Multisectoral Regional Offices joined a panel discussion addressing climate journalism, with a focus on media capacity development and media and information literacy, including discussion of the importance of vigorously combating climate disinformation.
Below is a list of the 2023 ABU Together4Peace Media Award laureates:
