UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

02/05/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 02/05/2024 17:39

This story must be told – UNESCO campaign for #WorldPressFreedomDay

The climate and biodiversity crisis are not only affecting the environment and ecosystems but also impacting the lives of countless individuals worldwide. Their stories of turmoil and grief deserve to be known and shared. While not always picturesque, these narratives can even stir discomfort, yet it is through awareness that change becomes possible. Illuminating the crisis is the first step towards solution.

That's why the role of journalists is crucial. It is through their work, their courage and their perseverance that we can know what is happening across the planet. They work on the frontlines of our collective struggle for our planet's well-being and livable conditions. On this World Press Freedom Day, let's celebrate their tireless efforts in shaping a better tomorrow.

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2024, UNESCO launches the 'This story must be told' campaign, spotlighting the contributions of journalists and photojournalists in unveiling stories that deserve to be told.

Explore the photographs and profiles of these storytellers below.

This image captured in 2022, shows the efforts of environmental forces to retrieve bird carcasses and curb the spread of a disease affecting birds in the Miankaleh wetland (Iran). Rapid ecosystem shifts are causing devastating repercussions on the wetland, leading to dire consequences for numerous animal species.
Mehdi Mohebbipour
A young girl gazes out of a window in Jakarta, Indonesia, to a flooded street. With over 80,000 kilometers of coastline comprising more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia faces an imminent threat from rising sea levels. Experts predict that by 2050, thousands of the country's islands and nearly one-third of Java, home to the capital Jakarta, will be under water.
Alain Schroeder
Two schoolgirls stand on the ruins of their school on Feb. 12, 2016, in Dzita, Ghana. The Dzita EP Basic School's four compounds fell victim to coastal erosion during the region's rainy season.
Matilde Gattoni
Rufino Choque, a member of the Urus indigenous community, stands atop a boat in the middle of the extinct Poopo Lake. Once spanning 3,000 square kilometers, this body of water was declared vanished in 2015. (Oruro, Bolivia. December 2021)
Manuel Seoane
In November 2023, one of the tragic casualties of severe heat exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon was an elephant in Zimbabwe's largest animal reserve. Hwange National Park, boasting over 45,000 elephants, witnessed the deaths of over 100 of these majestic creatures due to dehydration. The park, spanning 14,600 square kilometers, faces a dire threat from drought, exacerbated by the absence of major flowing rivers. Its reliance on solar-powered boreholes is now imperiled by a dwindling water table.
Privilege Musvanhiri
During the summer of 2021, wildfires raged across the Mediterranean. This poignant image, taken on 8 August 2021, immortalizes 81-year-old Panayiota Kritsiopi bathed in the orange glow of advancing flames as she flees her home on the Greek island of Evia. "At that moment I was shouting, not only for myself, but for the whole village," Kritsiopi recounted later.
Konstantinos Tsakalidis