A new organization uniting 10 foreign correspondent associations in South America was created on Oct. 26 in Santiago, Chile, reported the news agency DPA.
The South American Union of Correspondent Associations, (UNAC in Spanish) joins the foreign correspondent organizations from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador, reported the website SinEmbargo.mx. Colombia and Paraguay will participate as observers.
The announcement of the new organization was made at the First South American Congress of Correspondents where news organizations from around the hemisphere and world were represented. Journalists from international news agencies like Reuters, AFP, EFE, Xinhua, and the Associated Press attended, as well as representatives from the New York Times, The Economist, and BBC, reported the German news agency DPA, who also participated.
UNAC is led by Chilean journalist Mauricio Weibel; Argentine correspondent for Xinhua Ricardo Rivas; and Mario Roque, editor in chief of the Bolivian newspaper El Alteño, who serves as secretary general.
The association seeks to promote and defend freedom of expression and open access to information in the region, as well as publish a report on these issues, reported EFE.
