It was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993.
The day May 3 also marks the anniversary of Windhoek Declaration.
It was a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia in 1991.
UNESCO marks World Press Freedom Day by conferring the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
It is given on a deserving individual, organisation or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world.
2020 Theme is - "Journalism without Fear or Favor”.
Since 1993, the Global Conference is organized annually.
The Netherlands is the host for 2020 World Press Freedom Conference.