NEW YORK, APRIL 26 – Honored to join as vice chair of the Bureau of the Committee on Information for the period 2023-2024, Italy is poised to further strengthen its support to the DGC’s and the Committee’s work, that is becoming more and more critical in these times of polluted media ecosystem and increasing threats to citizens’ trust in institutions as well as challenges to the work of the UN itself.
Under USG Melissa Fleming’s “steadfast” leadership, the UN Department of Communication make the UN stand out as a reliable source of information for the citizens around the globe, while engaging them through a multi-stakeholder approach. This approach is also at the core of Italy’s communication strategy on topics such as women’s rights, particularly throughout the current Vice-Presidency of UN Women’s executive board, youth empowerment, through the Youth 4 Climate format, which is engaging more and more young environmental leaders both online and offline, the involvement of the private sector to achieve the 2030 Agenda, which we are spotlighting in a dedicated Podcast entitled ‘CommITtedEnterprises’, Italy’s Ludovica Murazzani said in her first address to the Committee after the election.
In the broader UN communication activity, Italy particularly appreciated the compassionate coverage of the war in Ukraine, of the crisis in Afghanistan and of the devastating effects of the draught in Somalia, just to mention some, but also some vital campaigns such as ‘Verified’ to educate the global audience not to be a victim of, or accidentally spread, misinformation and disinformation online. The DGC’s partnership with Google and Youtube was also a landmark initiative to disseminate scientific-based information and data on crucial topics such as climate change.
With the rich multilateral agenda ahead this year, an effective and multilingual communication will be crucial to reach a global audience in the run-up to high level events such as the SDG Summit in September, said Murazzani: “We hope that a similar outreach activity can lay the groundwork for other important meetings such as the High-level Pledging Event to Support the Humanitarian Response in the Horn of Africa on 24 May, the Stocktaking moment of the UN Food System Summit from 24 to 26 July, and the Fourth International Conference on SIDS to take place in 2024”.
Italy also supports the ongoing work to develop a Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms and looks forward to its recommendations for responsible behavior by all stakeholders, including states, civil society and the private sector. Together with the European Union, Italy is determined to counter information manipulation and interference, including disinformation.
As first troop-contributor to the UN Peacekeeping in the Western group, Italy is alarmed that 70% of UN peacekeepers said mis- and disinformation had a severe, critical or moderate impact on their work in 2022, while 75% said it impacted their safety and security: “Their safety is essential for the safety of the local populations where the peace operation is displaced, and ultimately for the very successful outcome of the peace operation itself. This is one more reason to redouble our efforts”, said the Italian delegate. (@OnuItalia)
