Journalism Week BES will take place June 14-20. With a programme full of activities for the pub­lic and the press in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, the entire week focuses on the importance of the media in the functioning of a democ­racy.

The week kicks off with a Documentary and Debate Night in Plaza Hotel Bo­naire on Tuesday, June 14, under the guidance of Ju­dith Brekelmans and Arjen de Wolff.

After the screening of a short documentary, panel­lists and the public will de­bate about themes such as whether to introduce public broadcasting, the influence of politics and commerce, self-censorship and the fulfilment of the watchdog role by the press. The pub­lic in Statia and Saba can follow the activities online. The results of the Media Workers Survey BES con­ducted by RE-Quest last year and the Plan of Action for Media Development BES which was based on the survey will be presented to various stakeholders by media researcher Renske Pin on Thursday, June 16. The Media Pressure Cook­er Marathon BES will take place June 17-19. On these days journalists and young journalistic talent are chal­lenged to zoom in on the importance of journalism in Bonaire, Statia and Saba, and to publish a special edi­tion of “Caribbean Kids News” about their findings. This three-day event with work sessions, live broad­casts and training is guided by trainers from the sis­ter islands such as Jeroen Pauw, Glenn Thode, Sulin Passial and Kees Broere, who also partly participated in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Media Devel­opment Program Curacao and Aruba.

After the production weekend, the participants will launch their online publication to the general public on Monday, June 20.

The Journalism Week BES aims to contribute to strengthening journalism on the islands in the Ca­ribbean Netherlands with training and a tangible product, by gaining insight into the media landscape, collaboration and increas­ing public media literacy.

The Daily Herald.