European Newspaper Congress/European Editor’s Forum

Dear Editors
Ladies and gentlemen:

It is a great pleasure for me to address this gathering of such distinguished media representatives here in Vienna. Johan Oberauer has realised the growing importance of constructive and informative reporting. He launched the debate about the concept some time ago, here at the European Newspaper Congress in this wonderful location. Last week I was in London and Oxford for 2 days, where I discussed it with editors from BBC, FT, Sunday Times, The Guardian and others. It was gratifying to see the growing openness to this concept and the increasing interest in new formats of cooperation.

My priority, at the United Nations and in the wider International Geneva, is to create conditions that enable such reporting. Today’s event, fittingly held on World Press Freedom Day, is an opportunity for us to strengthen our collaboration to mobilize our respective strengths in informing and engaging people globally.

The international community is facing challenging times. Major transformations are taking place faster than most people realize. The institutions that structure our societies at local, national and international levels have not adjusted accordingly. With individuals and different non-State actors empowered by rapid technological change, the governance systems that are in place are becoming increasingly ineffective. Rules and norms are circumvented and broken openly. Problems are apparent, but solutions often appear too complex to grasp. As a consequence, people lose trust in institutions and in each other.

This is the picture that emerges from reading the newspaper in the morning, watching the 8 o’clock news or listening to a debate on the radio. And all of it is true.

But this is not the only picture that people need to see. Despite the obvious shortcomings, institutions continue to deliver. Problems are being solved every day. In fact and despite the current difficult situations in many places in the world, the human race, on average, has never had it so good as it does today. We live longer, we are healthier, and we are better educated than ever before. By most objective measures of human well-being, the past decades have been the best in history. And each of the changes that are perceived as challenges also bring opportunities with them.

To give an example in the context of our gathering today, inventions like the internet and modern communication technology both challenged traditional media and created new ways of reaching an audience. With more than 7 billion mobile phones worldwide, for example, a direct line to a vast part of the world population is within easy reach.

Yet, as media outlets did not always adjust fast enough, other actors filled the gaps. As a consequence, standards of reporting vary; misinformation spreads and becomes difficult to distinguish from factual and evidence-based reporting. We live in a world where the flow of information and the possibilities for citizen participation have never been greater. Yet, many feel disempowered by the news, are disappointed in their political leadership and disengaged from decision-making. This generates a democratic deficit through apathy and indifference. In a sense, media outlets and the UN are faced with very similar challenges. We need to share our expertise and work together to see and realize the opportunities that accompany these challenges.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development gives us a chance to do exactly this. Many of you covered the historic agreement on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that touch every aspect of our lives in September last year. And people are beginning to grasp the immense potential that this new agenda has for a new, integrated and cohesive approach to social, economic and political development in all countries.

Implementing this agenda will require a new way of doing business for all stakeholders. The UN will shift from being an implementer to being a facilitator, catalyst and service provider. Today’s problems cannot be compartmentalized, and neither can their solutions. We cannot afford a one-dimensional view of the world that ignores complexity and glosses over connections across challenges. Different actors will need to work together horizontally and cooperate beyond traditional silos. And the media will play a key role in this process.

In one of my regular opeds which I wrote at the end of 2014, I compared the UN to the human body. We are never particularly aware of our body until it hurts. And it is the same with the UN. People do not hear about it unless something the UN does is seen as a failure. Today, I would like to extend this analogy. Governments and insurance companies go to great length to inform people about the need to stay fit. And that is where you – the media – have a key role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and other new governance frameworks. You can help us change the narrative on global governance and development and generate an inclusive process.

First, in line with the increasingly familiar arguments about constructive journalism, the media risks partly not to live up to its mandate by only reporting about what doesn’t work and forgetting to cover the other part of the equation. I always say that the work of the UN and its partners in Geneva and around the world affects every individual on this planet, every day. Whether it is through standardized road signs, guidelines that ensure safe vaccinations or by putting in place international regulations enabling the use of mobile phones in different countries: we simply would not be able to live the way we do without the important work carried out by the UN family of organizations.

How many of you, for example, have informed your audiences in-depth about the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals? Let me give you just three of many examples that we see very rarely in the media:

• The number of people living in extreme poverty declined by more than half in the last two decades.
• Globally, the under–five mortality rate dropped from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and 2015 – a drop of more than 50%.
• Official development assistance from developed countries saw an increase of 66% in real terms from 2000 to 2014.

People need to know about these facts. Without getting the full picture of the current facts and trends, wrong conclusion are drawn and the resources and capabilities that go into humanitarian and development aid are affected. Jodie has shown us other consequences of this one sided journalism, in illustrating how a growing number of disheartened citizens around the world disengages.

Secondly, people need to know about the opportunities that the Sustainable Development Goals and other important policy frameworks offer them. Empowered and well informed individuals will be critical in holding their Governments and institutions accountable. The Secretary-General has set the ambitious goal of making sure that at least 2 billion people have a basic knowledge of the content of the global goals by the end of 2017. To achieve this, we will have to “activate” 1000-plus well-informed individuals every day who can promote the goals and spread the messages in a snowballing effect. And finally, there will be a smaller circle of experts on this agenda who will be central in the efforts to create synergies, connect different actors and ensure a cohesive approach to implementation. All of this is not going to be possible without the amplifying voices of the media. Particularly at the local level, well informed community media and social media are associated with a range of benefits that are highly relevant to the challenge of poverty eradication which is a crucial goal to be achieved by 2030. Lead Media in the way Professor Turner has elaborated to all of us earlier, are a key vector that can help give practical meaning to this agenda and its relevance to daily life.

Thirdly, the media will also be essential in helping to foster the new, more collaborative business-model that will be required to achieve the 17 goals. By spreading information about different sectors and their involvement, the media can help all of us learn from best practices. It can connect good ideas of individuals with the budgets and expertise of NGOs or national Ministries. The UN has strong convening power and we will need to use this to bring actors together. Through innovative media, this convening power can be scaled to new levels.

Fourthly, the media will need to help monitor progress and shortcomings. With 17 goals and 169 targets, the 2030 Agenda is complex and monitoring it effectively will require the continuous spotlight on failures and mistakes, but also on success stories and good practices.

To enable journalists to have access to facts and to develop the necessary expertise, the UN, governments and other stakeholders must implement changes too. The Sustainable Development Goals have recognized the urgency to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements [SDG 16, target 10]. As we meet on World Press Freedom Day, a first example of an area where we have to continue working is the need to ensure a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers. Through entities such as UNESCO and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights we have to make progress to protect journalists’ rights.

A second area where all of our entities across the UN system and many of our partners have potential to improve is in the knowledge of how best to provide information to media outlets. Part of the Perception Change Project which I launched in Geneva has been the creation of a network of almost 90 actors from across International Geneva to have an exchange on best practices in collaboration with the media. We have also explored new formats such as “speed dating” where journalists get the chance to interview a range of representatives of organizations in Geneva in a short span of time in the same room, thus providing the opportunity to quickly get different perspectives on the same story.

The UN Information Service in Geneva (UNIS) can also be a facilitator, catalyst and service provider to the media. From anywhere in the world, you can follow news briefings, new developments and events from the UN in Geneva -- and elsewhere -- on the streaming platform webtv.un.org. You can get instantaneous updates by following @UNGeneva on Twitter, Facebook and other social media accounts. UNIS can help direct your queries for top experts throughout the global UN system and within the vast network of expertise that is available in International Geneva. Broadcasters can book studio interviews for breaking news stories or expert interviews -- on radio and television. And UNIS will organize thematic workshops for media -- covering the range and reach of the ambitious 2030 Agenda.

Our latest project to provide wide-ranging and easy access to the large amounts of data and information generated across Geneva is a website which we are launching soon. At gvadata.ch you can find datasets and information material provided by over 40 UN and other entities in Geneva organized by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. I encourage you to make good use of it, so let me repeat the address of the webpage: www.gvadata.ch. This data gold mine will help you to spot facts and trends at an early stage. Further, a team of academics from all around the world to help you and your editorial teams to develop your own indices such as, for example, the “Guardian Gender Index”, the “KURIER MIGRATION INDEX” or the NZZ GLOBALIZATION INDEX”. The support and engagement we have seen by our Member States and other partners in our efforts at the UN to adopt a new working culture of increased transparency is an encouraging sign that we are on the right track.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We have an ambitious agenda ahead of us. The world is not in a very good shape, but there are tremendously inspiring examples of progress. These give hope and reason for optimism. Together, we must make sure that, through a constructive partnership, they are shared across the globe. In a world of 7 billion people, with a cacophony of voices that are often ill-informed and based on narrow agendas, we need Journalism at its best. Constructive journalism offers a way to do that. We have now a unique window of opportunity to implement this. I and my colleagues stand ready to contribute to this effort that must be a truly collaborative effort with you if we are to succeed.

Thank you very much.