The Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) is hosting an early celebration on May 1 to commemorate World Press Freedom Day.

A three-hour event at the Qatar National Convention Center will feature a curated gallery of political cartoons (including from our favorite local cartoonist Khalid Albaih), a performance by Qatari funny guy Mohammed Fahad Kamal and a discussion of press freedom with media leaders from across the region.

Notably, World Press Freedom Day as declared by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of media issues, officially falls on May 3, so the event is a tad bit early.

In addition to the Doha event, DCMF is also participating in events in Tunis and Tripoli.

(Disclosure: I regularly work with the Doha Centre, and they’ve asked me to participate in a panel in Tunis.)

The program in Doha is open to the public, and you can RSVP on Facebook. Here’s the full schedule for May 1: