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May update
Welcome to the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s May update. In this newsletter, you’ll find highlights from across our areas of work, as well as the latest opportunities for you to get involved. If you don’t regularly receive our newsletter, you can subscribe here.
TrustLaw Awards: Celebrating the impact of pro bono
TrustLaw, the Foundation’s global pro bono legal service, hosted its annual TrustLaw Awards ceremony on 16 May in London. Now in their twelfth year, the Awards celebrate ground-breaking pro bono projects undertaken by legal teams on behalf of NGOs and social enterprises in the TrustLaw network. They are an opportunity to recognise some of the most innovative, collaborative, and impactful pro bono legal work responding to global threats, supporting vulnerable communities, and protecting the planet.
The ceremony featured two insightful fireside chats: Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, barrister, international human rights lawyer and expert in freedom of expression and open justice at Doughty Street Chambers, talked about how the law can be used to combat threats to media freedom, while Steve Trent, CEO of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), highlighted how a human rights lens is key to tackling climate justice.
Explore our 2022 Annual Report
The Foundation’s 2022 Annual Report showcases our key achievements and milestones from last year, including an overview of our impact and a detailed breakdown of our annual accounts.
As we navigated the fallout of increasing threats to independent media around the world, the impacts of the war in Ukraine, the climate emergency and rising inequalities globally, the Foundation delivered a wide range of programmatic activities, events and strategic initiatives across our focus areas. From facilitating pro bono research for NGOs and supporting journalists to navigate the complexities of an ever-changing legal landscape, to launching Context – our digital news platform - and promoting more effective multi-stakeholder responses to ending modern slavery and human trafficking, the breadth and variety of the Foundation’s work throughout 2022 demonstrates our tireless
mission to strengthen free, fair, and informed societies.
Surveillance technology: everything, everywhere, all at once
From the use of surveillance technology on the US-Mexico border and the deployment of facial recognition systems to identify protestors in Brazil and Iran, to corporations tracking customers – our latest Pocket collection unpacks the uneven impacts of rapid advances in artificial intelligence around the world.
This collection is the fourth in a series produced in partnership with Context – to showcase our reporting on pressing global issues. It highlights the widespread use of digital surveillance globally, with increases in technologies such as digital IDs and GPS devices. Claims have been made that these technologies are meant to improve governance and reduce crime, however, they disproportionately impact minorities including migrants and refugees, human rights activists and political dissidents.
May updates from across the Foundation
Media Freedom:
2023 Kurt Schork Awards: Application deadline extended
The application deadline for the 2023 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism has been extended by two weeks to midnight (BST) on Wednesday,14 June. Freelance journalists, local reporters and news fixers reporting on conflict, corruption and human rights transgressions will now have more time to submit their entries and be in with a chance to win $5,000 and the opportunity to speak at Trust Conference, the Foundation’s flagship annual event.
These Awards are named in honour of American freelance journalist Kurt Schork, who was killed in 2000 while on assignment for Reuters in Sierra Leone. 24 May marked the 23rd anniversary of Kurt’s death and is a reminder of his enduring legacy, which continues to inspire brave journalists around the world to expose the truth and hold power to account. Kurt greatly admired the work of news fixers, whose local knowledge and invaluable contributions help to shape the direction of international coverage. This year, News Fixer Award applicants can submit their own entry supported by three references from foreign correspondents with whom they have worked.
Voices from the frontline: an interview with Ukrainian photojournalist, Oleksandr Kornyakov
On World Press Freedom Day, we launched our 'Voices from the Frontline’ series with a powerful interview with Ukrainian photojournalist Oleksandr Kornyakov. The piece documents Oleksandr’s five-month experience of living and working in Russian-controlled Kherson, following a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This series is dedicated to amplifying the voices of Ukrainian journalists and media professionals working in challenging situations, and showcases the Foundation’s commitment to supporting independent media around the world.
Inclusive Economies:
Katapult Future Fest
Context is a media partner for this year's Katapult Future Fest taking place in Oslo, Norway, on 31 May- 2 June. The event welcomes a global community of change-makers to explore how impact investing, business leadership, and exponential technologies can be harnessed to create a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable future society for all. View the agenda and buy your tickets here.
Ride-hailing apps have a gender problem
A recent piece by Context unpacks the challenges women drivers face in the gender-skewed tax industry. Though ride-hailing apps like Uber are more inclusive, they come with their own set
of issues - such as paying women less - and have been sued over safety.
This piece highlights how female drivers are fighting back, with a spotlight on Nairobi based ride-haling company, An Nisa, whose drivers only pick up women and children and earn more commission per ride than their bigger competitors. Industry leaders, such as Uber and Bolt, are also coming up with solutions by implementing special women-only programmes to attract more female drivers.
Human Rights:
Europe's asylum paradox
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, The European Union, for the first time, implemented its Temporary Protection Directive; a mechanism under which Ukrainians have the right to work, and access to housing, education, health care and welfare.
A special series from Context, supported by Journalismfund Europe, looks at the impacts of its use and how it has created a two-tier system for people seeking a safe haven on the continent, with refugees from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan not receiving the same provisions. This series unpacks the responses of some European countries to refugees from around the world - including Poland fencing off the Belarus frontier to stop asylum seekers, and Italy fast tracking Ukranian refugees over other countries.
Discover more in our focus areas:
This month we recommend
READ: Context – our digital news platform - has recently launched its Opinions page. Read articles from world leading experts on climate change, inclusive economies and the impact on technology on society, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on “Why are 7 out of 10 maternal deaths still taking place in Africa?”
READ: What is the tampon tax and which countries have axed it? | Context
READ: Journalism’s Essential Value | Columbia Journalism Review
LISTEN: An anonymous #MeToo source goes public – Reflections from a whistleblower | The Daily, New York Times
LISTEN: Frontlines of Journalism by Jeremy Bowen | BBC Sounds
READ: Author Arinze Ifeakandu shines a light on gay Nigerian lives | Openly
Opportunities:
Head of Communications, London (12 months FTC): Based in London, we’re seeking a highly organised Head of Communications to join our busy Communications team. Reporting to the Global Director of Communications, this role will lead on forward planning and daily scheduling of internal and external communications initiatives, manage the day-to-day workloads of the Communications team and oversee the successful delivery of communications and social media campaigns for key Foundation initiatives and events.
We are the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information services company. We work to advance media freedom, foster more inclusive economies, and promote human rights.
