UNESCO launches initiative on media self-regulation in Egypt

More than 70 representatives of the Egyptian media community and civil society attended last week’s roundtable on media self-regulation and learn from the world’s best practices in Germany, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sweden and United Kingdom.

The roundtable reiterated that only Egyptian journalists could build up their own model of self-regulation as well as define their own professional standards.  Azhar Abbas, Managing Director of Geo TV (Pakistan), and Manfred Protze, Chairman of the Department for complaints in the German Press Council, presented cases of Pakistan and Germany, as well as their personal experience, regarding the role and the functioning of an independent body for adjudicating complains.

The main outcome of the event was the adoption of a statement on the reform of self-regulatory system of media in Egypt and the creation of a working group, which will continue the concrete work on the establishment of an independent body for complaints adjudication.

The meeting was the first in a series, organized by UNESCO’s Cairo Office, aiming at revitalizing media self-regulatory system in Egypt, and strengthening professional ethics and editorial independence of journalists.