More than 20 Latin American universities are participating in the Hemispheric Conference of Universities on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, organized by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). The conference's goal is to discuss and propose public policy reforms to fight the impunity that surrounds attacks against the press in Latin America.
With the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Foundation for the Freedom of Expression in Mexico and the newspaper Síntesis de Puebla, 22 universities from 15 different Latin American countries are participating in the conference in Puebla, Mexico, to recommend ways to combat impunity in attacks against the region's journalists.
Leading up to the conference, experts in communication science, law, sociology, as well as social and political science analyzed the weaknesses in the legal, judicial, academic, media and journalistic systems to look for possible solutions for each country in Latin America. The proposals and recommendations from each university can be read here.
Students and professors from diverse areas of study will present their proposals to change the penal code in many countries, create new organizations to protect journalists and launch campaigns about freedom of expression at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla.
As part of the Impunity Project, the objective is to create a final document to send to governments, NGOs, universities and media groups so they might adopt the conference's recommendations to protect media workers.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela are among the participating countries.
