DUSHANBE, May 4, 2015, Asia-Plus -- "Let Journalism Thrive! Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality, and Safety in the Digital Age" that is the theme for World Press Freedom 2015.

Every year, May 3 is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom; to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.

Over 100 national celebrations take place each year to commemorate this Day.  UNESCO leads the worldwide celebration by identifying the global thematic and organizing the main event in different parts of world every year.

The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991.

UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day by conferring the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on a deserving individual, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defense and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger. Created in 1997, the prize is awarded on the recommendation of an independent jury of 14 news professionals. Names are submitted by regional and international non-governmental organizations working for press freedom, and by UNESCO member states.

The Prize is named in honor of Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá, on December 17, 1986.  Cano''s writings had offended Colombia''s powerful drug barons.

UNESCO also marks World Press Freedom Day each year by bringing together media professionals, press freedom organizations and UN agencies to assess the state of press freedom worldwide and discuss solutions for addressing challenges. Each conference is centered on a theme related to press freedom, including good governance, media coverage of terrorism, impunity and the role of media in post-conflict countries.

This year, the conference is being held in Riga, Latvia from May 2 to May 4.   On May 3, the Director-General of UNESCO awarded the World Press Freedom Prize to jailed Syrian journalist Mazen Darwish.    The laureate was represented by his wife, journalist Yara Bader, who is also the Director of the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom.

Meanwhile, Freedom of the Press 215 , released by Freedom House  on April 28, ranks Tajikistan179th among 199 countries and territories in terms of freedom of the press.  The report notes that conditions for the media deteriorated sharply in 2014 to reach their lowest point in more than 10 years, as journalists around the world encountered more restrictions from governments, militants, criminals, and media owners.