On May 3 at the UN Office in Armenia an event was held to celebrate the World
Press Freedom Day and organized by the UN Office in Armenia, Open Society Institute
Assistance Foundation-Armenia and “Partnership for Open Society” initiative.
Opening the meeting, the UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative
Consuelo Vidal expressed condolences to the families of the passengers and crew
members of Yerevan-Sochi aircraft – the victims of the May 3 crash. Consuelo
Vidal noted in particular that this year the theme of the World Press Freedom
Day is the role of media in the eradication of poverty. The Head of OSCE Office
in Yerevan Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin in his speech addressed the assessments
of the press freedom in Armenia by international organizations and their role
in the democracy development. The Chairwoman of the National Assembly Standing
Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Youth Issues Hranush Hakobian analyzed
the freedom of speech situation nowadays and 15 years ago, when Armenia gained
independence, in the context of legislative changes. The presentation of the
Deputy Executive Director of Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation-Armenia
David Amirian was dealing with the cooperation of the civil society and media
in general and the activities of “Partnership for Open Society” in particular.
The Chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression Ashot Melikian
presented the Annual Report of Yerevan Press Club and the Committee to Protect
Freedom of Expression on the freedom of speech in Armenia in 2005 (see
below). The event also hosted an exhibition “Journalists at Work”
of photojournalist Hakob Berberian (HakBer) and “Photolure” photo agency.
