[Commlist] Safety of journalists conference

Please share the call for papers:

*Safety of journalists in the coverage of political elections/ Safety of 
journalists in war*

We are happy to announce that we are now accepting abstract submissions 
to the tenth annual Conference on the Safety of Journalists. The 
conference, organized by MEKK in cooperation with UNESCO Norway and the 
Fritt Ord Foundation, is held annually during the first week of November 
in conjunction with the UN’s International Day to End Impunity for 
Crimes Against Journalists. This year, it is scheduled for October 31st 
and November 1st, 2024.The annual MEKK conferences have become an 
important meeting place for professionals and organizations in the field 
of journalist safety. Academic partnerships including papers, workshops, 
and books have come about from bringing together practicing journalists, 
educators and researchers at these conferences.

The 10th annual conference on journalist safety will address two main 
themes: journalists’ role in the largest election year in history and 
their coverage of war and conflict.

*_Track one: Safety of journalists covering elections and political 
developments_*

2024 is being called the biggest election year in world history as 2.6 
billion people go to the polls in over 50 countries worldwide. 
Journalists play a crucial role in ensuring that the public has access 
to relevant information as they prepare to cast their votes in countries 
such as India, Brazil, Mali, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia, and the 
United States, to name a few. Reporters Without Borders stresses how 
political pressure is a crucial challenge for journalists worldwide in 
their 2024 report launched May 3, 2024. In several countries, voters may 
end up giving power to candidates who aim to tighten democratic rights, 
and the journalists who cover the election campaign and elections will 
face many challenges.

/Journalists must not be threatened, targeted with attacks or prevented 
from reporting freely at any time. We call on governments to take extra 
measures to protect journalists’ safety and to guarantee the right to 
freedom of expression and access to information, including during 
electoral periods. These two fundamental human rights are critical to 
the functioning of democracy (Tawfik Jelassi*, *UNESCO’s Assistant 
Director-General for Communications and Information). /

*_Track two:_ _The role of journalists covering war and conflict_*

The conflict in Gaza presents an unprecedented danger to journalists, as 
highlighted by the Committee to Protect Journalists.. Nasser Abu Naker, 
leader of the Palestine Union of Journalists, attests to the immense 
suffering endured by media personnel in Gaza, surpassing any previous 
experiences. Despite these challenges, journalists persist in their 
reporting duties, demonstrating remarkable resilience. Meanwhile, the 
war in Ukraine continues, claiming the lives of media workers, while 
journalists face threats and violence in numerous other global conflicts 
and wars.

/“When we lose a journalist, we lose our eyes and ears to the outside 
world. We lose a voice for the voiceless,” Volker Turk, UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights 2024/

In addition to papers that examine the safety challenges of journalists 
covering political elections, wars or conflicts and which explore 
measures for improvement in this area,

*we are open to new academic work that explores any issue of journalist 
safety*.

We welcome abstracts of up to 250 words and a short bio to be uploaded 
to this secure online form <https://nettskjema.no/a/343008> by August 
16, 2024. Please include your full name, institutional affiliation, and 
email. There is no registration fee, and participants are expected to 
cover their own costs for travel and accommodation.

A limited number of scholarships to cover flight and/or accommodation is 
available for PhD students and researchers from low-income countries. 
Applications for scholarships should be submitted with the abstract 
together with a short CV and information about nearest airport etc. The 
best papers will be considered for a forthcoming peer-reviewed publication.

For any questions, please contact (safetyofjournalists /at/ oslomet.no) 
<mailto:(safetyofjournalists /at/ oslomet.no)>


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