World Television Day | |
---|---|
Observed by | United Nations |
Date | 21 November |
Next time | 21 November 2025 |
Frequency | Annual |
In December 1996 the United Nations proclaimed 21 November as World Television Day commemorating the date on which the first World Television Forum was held in 1996. [1]
Opposition to this declaration took the form of 11 abstentions to a vote on the resolution; in expressing their opposition, the delegation from Germany said: [2]
There are already three United Nations days encompassing similar subjects: World Press Freedom Day; World Telecommunication and Information Society Day; and World Development Information Day. To add another day does not make much sense... [T]elevision is only one means of information and an information medium to which a considerable majority of the world population has no access... That vast majority could easily look at World Television Day as a rich man's day. They do not have access to television. There are more important information media and here I would mention radio in particular. We think it is more important to enhance the role of those media than that of television.
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