On May 14th, the Forum on Information and Democracy co-hosted a high-level event on information integrity and media issues to influence the agenda of the South African G20 presidency. Held at the French Embassy to South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi in Pretoria, the event gathered representatives of South African civil society, media actors, diplomatic representatives, the European Union and other interested stakeholders.
In 2024, Brazil made information integrity a key priority of the country’s presidency of the G20. On various occasions, the theme was debated, leading, amongst other things, to the endorsement of a strong commitment in the Declaration the G20 Ministers responsible for the Digital Economy, convened in Maceió, Brazil, on 13 September 2024.
As South Africa took over the presidency of the group gathering the biggest economies in the world and the EU, the Forum and its partners have been advocating to ensure that information integrity and media issues would be included in the discussions. This engagement was highlighted on May 14th with an event hosted at the French Embassy which gathered leading experts and organizations, both from South Africa and other G20 countries.
On this occasion, French Ambassador to South Africa David Martinon recalled the importance of the International Partnership for Information and Democracy launched by France and 30 other countries in 2019. Brazilian Ambassador in South Africa, Mr Benedicto Fonseca Filho, also took the occasion to recall the leadership of his country on the issue during their presidency of the G20.
The event also ambitionned to articulate international and diplomatic efforts with national priorities. Actors such as the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) have raised their priorities regarding the financial precarity of the media in the country. For Tshamano Makhadi, Deputy Chair of the SANEF, “G20 engagement can make a contribution if media troubles continue, worsen or improve – the news media is shrinking, and that imbalance threatens G20 priorities.”
Towards an official engagement group for the G20
This event was also an occasion to support the efforts of different actors to establish a formal engagement group on media issues, the M20 (Media 20). Over the years, engagement groups have played a significant role in shaping the agenda and statements of both the G20 and G7, notably on women rights (W20), Youth (Y20), Science (S20) and more.
The proposal is led by SANEF and MMA, two long time partners of the Forum on Information and Democracy in the region. Working with local and global stakeholders and organisations, the M20, while not formally recognised at this stage, will keep pushing for an ambitious agenda on media freedom, sustainability and independence.
It includes participation in G20 events, convenings of media and information ecosystem role players, hosting of webinars on G20 related issues and publishing issue papers. It will draw on the participation of researchers, experts and networks of international media development organisations and relevant think tanks, civil society, and media organisations amongst G20 members, as well as from across the African continent.
