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Greek law enforcement agents reaffirm commitment to freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists
Held at the Hellenic Police Further Education Training School in Thessaloniki, Greece, the four-day training was organized by the International Training Center for the Safety of Journalists and Media Professionals (ICSJ), the Hellenic Police and UNESCO. It started with an introduction to international legal frameworks and the importance of freedom of expression, particularly focusing on risks for female journalists. International expert Philippe Perez and UNESCO expert Mehdi Benchelah presented participants with key recommendations from the recently released issue brief, .
During this workshop, I learned that police and journalists share a common ground in their mission to upholding freedom of expression. This subject is completely relevant to my professional responsibilities and opens horizons for a new and dynamic approach to cooperation between police and journalists.
During the event, the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Journalist鈥檚 Union, Kostas Triantafyllou, spoke about current challenges and paths forward. The dialogue aimed to help participants understand each other's roles and challenges. It included simulations of crowd-control units, crime scene press perimeters and media interviews to improve communication skills. During the final day, police working groups discussed the prospects of building a training module for law enforcement agents on freedom of expression.
Nikos Panagiotou, Head of the ICSJ, reflected on the importance of the support from partners and the Greek government for this workshop. He recognized a crucial role played by law enforcement agents in upholding the rule of law and maintaining public order, which includes protecting the right to freedom of expression.
This initiative emphasizes the potential of our country and marks the beginning of a wider effort for us.
As a photojournalist, I had the chance for the first time in my career to discuss with police officers the incidents that had either exposed me to danger or restricted my freedom of expression while operating on the ground. I strongly believe that these type of common training between law enforcement units and journalists can lead to a better understanding of our different roles and improve working conditions for both officers and journalists.
Greek Secretary for Communication and Information, Dimitris Galamatis, in his closing remarks, emphasized Greece鈥檚 support for initiatives that strengthen relations between police and media.
The press freedom and support to the journalistic function are prerequisites for democracy, which is a top priority for us. This is why every initiative in this direction, such as the training of the security forces in matters of safety of journalists and freedom of expression in collaboration with UNESCO, can only be praised.
This initiative, which aimed at sharing lessons learned from a flagship programme on training security forces on freedom of expression and safety of journalists, was made possible thanks to the Government of Greece and UNESCO, and was supported by the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists.
Since 2013, UNESCO and its partners have trained over 12,000 security forces in 160 countries on freedom of expression, access to information and journalists' safety through various training workshops and dialogues.
