The Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) has been elected to the Council of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) and its five-member executive committee. The Trinidad-based organisation was elected during the biennial general meeting of IFEX in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 31. ACM president, Wesley Gibbings, will serve alongside representatives from 11 national, regional and international organisations from North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
The IFEX council now comprises the ACM; Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) of the US, Article 19, UK; Pacific Islands News Association, Fiji; Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations (CIES) of Russia; Foro de Periodisimo Argentina; the Independent Journalism Center, based in Moldova; Media Foundation for West Africa, based in Ghana; the Palestinian Center for Development; and Media Freedom, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) of the Philippines, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) of Nigeria, and the Pakistan Press Freedom (PFF).
The ACM was represented at the general meeting by Gibbings and Sheila Velez, ACM adviser. Prior to the meeting, the ACM served on the Coordinating Committee of the IFEX Latin American and Caribbean Alliance. ACM representatives on the Alliance included Gibbings, Velez and Clive Bacchus. IFEX was created in 1992 in Montreal, Canada, when a dozen leading free expression organisations came together to create a coordinated mechanism to rapidly expose free expression violations around the world. Today, IFEX numbers more than 80 independent organisations worldwide and is internationally recognised as a highly credible and effective global network.