World Press Freedom
Day
Photo by Ricardo Castilho
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World Press Freedom Day
By Regina Lee
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On May 2, 2025, the National Ethnic Press and Media Council
of Canada celebrated World Press Freedom Day at Toronto City
Hall. Newspaper publishers, editors and journalists
representing a multitude of languages, including local
community leaders and politicians, marked the day with
speeches and presented awards to seven recipients for
achievements and service to journalism in Canada.
Thanh Tam was recognized for her work in Vietnamese media.
She was a producer for SBTN, and later founded VietLive TV
in 2017 to deliver local and international news to the
Vietnamese diaspora. In 2024, she directed “Boat People: A
50-Year Journey”, a full-length documentary film about the
plight of Vietnamese refugees who fled Vietnam after the
war. The film was presented at 100 screenings in 11
countries around the world. “This award honors stories of
our communities’ resilience and identity, and on World Press
Freedom Day, we champion the right to speak truth and
amplify every voice,” said Thanh Tam.
Paul Nguyen and Jeremy Grimaldi each received an award for
their success as the Canadian producers behind one of
Netflix’s most-watched documentary movies of 2024, the true
crime hit, “What Jennifer Did”. The film, about the Jennifer
Pan case, captivated audiences worldwide, reaching number
one in 30 countries.
Paul Nguyen is a filmmaker and community activist who
founded Jane-Finch.com, a website that was developed in 2004
to dispel negative stereotypes about Toronto’s Jane-Finch
area. “I'm honoured to receive this award and want to
inspire more Vietnamese youth to share their stories.”
Jeremy Grimaldi is crime and justice reporter who dedicated
nearly a year to covering the high-profile Jennifer Pan
case. The coverage culminated in the publication of his
award-winning book, “A Daughter’s Deadly Deception: the
Jennifer Pan Story”, which earned him the prestigious Arthur
Ellis Non-Fiction Award in 2017. “World Press Freedom Day
celebrates conviction, independence, and journalism, and the
National Ethnic Press honour inspires me to promote fair
communication across diverse communities,” said Grimaldi at
the event.
Celebrated every May 3, World Press Freedom Day was
proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993 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 in the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
The National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada was
established in 1958 (formerly Canada Ethnic Press
Federation) to promote cultural interests of ethnic
communities into mainstream Canadian society.
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