In 2025, IPI marks 75 years of defending press freedom – a milestone we’ll celebrate at the IPI World Congress and Media Innovation Festival in Vienna under the theme “Defending the Future of Free Media.” As part of this gathering, we’ll be unveiling a special exhibition drawing from the IPI archive. This exhibition will showcase 75 years worth of materials documenting the evolution of the global fight to protect and defend independent media and press freedom.
Today, we are sharing the first look behind the scenes of the early archive findings and taking you on the journey through the years of the IPI World Congress as one of the biggest global gatherings in the press freedom and journalism community.
Read on below, and register for this year’s 75th anniversary World Congress.
How did it start?
IPI was founded in 1950 by leading editors from 15 countries who believed that a free press would lead to a freer, more peaceful world. Our 75th anniversary arrives at a moment when journalism is under immense pressure worldwide, making it all the more important to stand in solidarity and reaffirm the essential value of public-interest journalism.
The IPI World Congress traces its origins to the first IPI Constitutional Conference in 1951 and the General Assembly, held in Paris in 1952. This inaugural gathering brought together 101 editors from 21 countries, creating a platform for members of the IPI global network to debate urgent issues, vote on organizational policy, and hear from leading voices in journalism and public life.
Striving to be ahead of the curve, the very first General Assembly (which would later become the World Congress) focused on themes such as atomic power, science and climate reporting, censorship, misinformation, and the effects of technological change and automation on journalism.
Expanding the press freedom conversation
As IPI’s membership grew more diverse and global, so, too, did the IPI World Congress. Throughout the years, it has been hosted in forty-one countries on six continents and has featured a diverse programme of speakers from around the world.
IPI held its first World Congresses in Asia in the 60s (Tokyo, 1960 and New Delhi, 1966) and in Africa (Nairobi, 1969). In the 70s, the General Assembly was hosted in Athens (1979), followed by the end of the Greek military junta. In 1985, the Congress reached North Africa with a gathering in Cairo. Two years later, in 1987, IPI convened its first General Assembly in Latin America (Buenos Aires and Montevideo, 1987), celebrating the return of democracy and press freedom to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil after years of dictatorship. In 1989, just months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the General Assembly returned to Berlin in a symbolic moment in the global movement toward stronger relations among global media. And after years of working to support media freedom in Eastern Europe, IPI held its first Congress behind the Iron Curtain in Budapest in 1992 and Moscow in 1998.
These milestones led the way to ever-evolving World Congresses, not only in geography but also in purpose and representation. In 1994, Nelson Mandela addressed the IPI World Congress in Cape Town, just months before Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) would win the country’s first inclusive elections.
Only a free press “can be the vigilant watchdog of the public interest against the temptation on the part of those who wield it to abuse that power.” Mandela noted in his address.
The Congress has had a long-standing tradition of hosting not only the world’s leading journalists, but also of providing a space for debate and conversation on the leading global issues of the time. IPI World Congress speakers have included public intellectuals, Nobel Prize winners, presidents, prime ministers, UN secretaries general, kings, and queens.
Just a few of the prominent guests included his holiness the Dalai Lama, Konrad Adenauer, Charles de Gaulle, Indira Gandhi, Dag Hammarskjöld, His Highness the Aga Khan, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson, Desmond Tutu, Wole Soyinka, Amartya Sen, Al Gore, and many more.
Most recently, in 2024, we hosted the IPI World Congress and Media Innovation Festival in Sarajevo for the first time, under the theme “Navigating Crises: Journalism at a Turning Point”. The event featured more than 100 speakers, from 66 countries, with 52% of women speakers.
>> Learn about the 2025 speakers and register for this year’s 75th anniversary World Congress
Marking the 75th anniversary of IPI in the city we call home
The IPI secretariat was originally based in Zurich (1951-1975) and then moved to London (1976-1991). In 1992, IPI found a new home in Vienna. At the 1993 Congress, outgoing director Peter Galliner remarked, “The IPI must play an increasing role in Central and Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union. So Vienna is an excellent choice for the Secretariat.”
Vienna has long held a special place in IPI’s history, having hosted the World Congress in 1954, 1986, 2010, 2021 and 2023. In 2025, as we mark IPI’s 75th anniversary, the IPI World Congress returns to our home city for the sixth time, this time on the grounds of the stunning UNESCO World Heritage site of Schönbrunn Palace.
Throughout its history, the IPI World Congress has convened those who believe in the power of journalism to strengthen democracy and serve the public good. In 2025, we invite you to be part of this history.
More about the IPI historical archive
In the seven decades since IPI was founded, we have produced an unparalleled archive that traces the evolution of the global media landscape. This collection offers a unique window into the historic movement to protect and strengthen press and media freedom worldwide.
Our collection spans key moments and movements in modern history: censorship challenges in post-war Europe; the struggle for independence in Africa and its reflection in the quest to build a free press; efforts to control information during the Cold War; years of dictatorship and revolution in Latin America; and the abuse of media as propaganda during the Balkan wars, among countless other developments. More recently, it bears witness to the tragic rise in attacks on journalists in conflict zones and the profound impacts of global digital transformation. The archive also stands as a testament to all those who risked – and, in some cases, gave – their lives in service of bringing truth to light.
This archival material is now hosted in shelved boxes in IPI’s office. IPI’s 75th anniversary — coming at another global turning point — is the right moment to dust it off and share these resources with our community and the public. That’s why we’re embarking on a long-term project to digitize the archive. At a time when the institutions of free society are under threat, this initiative paves the way for researchers, academics, journalists and others to access an unparalleled set of materials on the history of press freedom and the evolution of journalism – while also providing guidance and inspiration to protect independent journalism for future generations.
We hope you will join us in Vienna this October to explore a special first highlight of this initiative: an exhibition of IPI’s archival documents, which will also be available as a digital experience.
As we move forward, we’re also looking for expertise and partnerships to support this initiative. Do you or your media outlet have experience with archival digitization? Does your organization potentially have its own archival material related to IPI’s history? Or perhaps you’re just interested in learning more and being part of or supporting this initiative. If so, please write to IPI Director of Special Projects Gabriela Manuli at [email protected]. We’d love to be in touch!