The European Union held a debate on media and democracy at Uganda Christian University on the 26th of September 2018.
This debate was intended to have an insightful and engaging conversation that is bound to find strategies and take appropriate action to ensure a productive relationship between the public sector, civil society and media.
According to the European Union Ambassador, Attilio Pacifici, the EU is committed to supporting the strengthening of democracy both within Europe and the rest of the world.
“Democracy today, however, faces substantial challenges. And so does the absolutely prerequisite relationship between Government, civil society and the media,” he added.
The question of media’s possibility to perform their role of information dissemination without interference from the government is surely one that has stood a test of time. This debate triggered engagement on key issues and tapped into the perspective of key performers.
“From the recent observation, it indicates that the government just wants to be unaccountable. This has been very vast to the scrutiny on the media, civil society and friends of this country,” said Chrispin Kaheru, the Coordinator of Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU).
This was his justification for the government’s efforts to stifle the work of the media. He added that they are advocating for space where the various stakeholders come together and have a sort of organized structured dialogue.
In quest of whether the media had the moral authority to assess the government, Dr. Monica Chibita submitted that the media ought to justify that they have clarity on what they disseminate and with that in check, they are credible.
Uganda Christian University was chosen to hold the debate in the bid to capture the voices of the youth who make the majority of the population in Uganda.
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