Ragne Kõuts-Klemm to represent Estonia in a UNESCO media freedom programme

The UNESCO General Conference, which gathered in Paris on 16 November, elected Estonia to the council of a programme supporting free, independent and pluralistic media in developing countries. Estonia will be represented in the council by Ragne Kõuts-Klemm, Associate Professor in Sociology of Journalism and Head of the Institute of Social Studies of the University of Tartu.

“The situation of free and autonomous media worldwide is becoming increasingly complicated every year. That is why it is important for us to pay attention to maintaining media freedom globally as a joint effort of different countries and international organisations. I am glad that Estonia, which serves as an example with its transparency and guarantee of freedoms, can be one of the leaders in this process,” Kõuts-Klemm said.

The Head of the Institute of Social Studies will be involved in the decision-making processes to consider the funding for media freedom activities in certain countries. Kõuts-Klemm will also help shape UNESCO’s positions and formulate statements on media freedom issues.

The work of UNESCO in the field of media is vital for Estonia because it addresses the freedom of expression, information accessibility, hate speech, press freedom and the safety of journalists, as well as innovation, digital issues and media and information literacy. The programme has its own fund, which has financed nearly 2,100 projects worldwide. In the current war situation, also the Ukrainian media has been supported in many ways.

The general conference also held elections, where Russia was voted out of UNESCO’s executive board. Russia applied in the second electoral group, in which Serbia, Albania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were elected to the four vacant seats.