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March update
Welcome to the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s March update. In this newsletter, you’ll find highlights from across our work, as well as the latest opportunities for you to get involved. If you don’t regularly receive our newsletter, you can subscribe here.
International Women’s Day: 8 ways we support women and girls
Yesterday on International Women's Day (IWD), we paused to celebrate women’s contributions to society. But, with stark concern that gender inequalities have been exacerbated by the pandemic, it is also a rallying point for the unprecedented global movement advocating for women’s rights and opportunities to be equal to those of men.
This year’s IWD theme, ‘Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’, acknowledges that “without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future, remains beyond our reach.” This sense of urgency is at the heart of our work, which leverages our unique legal and media expertise to build free, fair and informed societies, with a focus on women and girls who represent a majority of the world’s poor and vulnerable.
This article outlines eight ways in which our work on advancing media freedom, fostering more inclusive economies and promoting human rights is supporting women and girls around the world to live freely and to be treated fairly. These interventions focus on:
- Closing the gender pay gap
- Protecting women journalists from harassment
- Celebrating women in journalism
- Stamping out online sexual abuse
- Promoting a gender perspective in business practices
- Holding power to account
- Supporting survivors to escape domestic abuse
- Ending harmful practices
Join our webinars on Media’s Role in a Sustainable Recovery in Asia and the Pacific
With development challenges becoming ever more complex during COVID-19, the need for high-quality journalism to shed light on them has never been greater, especially in developing regions such as Asia and the Pacific.
To help journalists strengthen their coverage on a range of pressing development challenges – from climate change to digital divides and rising inequalities – the Asian Development Bank and the Thomson Reuters Foundation are hosting a four-part webinar series on the Media’s Role in a Sustainable Recovery in Asia and the Pacific.
This is a unique opportunity for journalists in Asia and the Pacific, looking to enhance their reporting and connect with experts and their counterparts in the region.
Foundation to host Secretariat for the Media Freedom Coalition
We are honoured to have been selected by the UK Government to set up, host and run a Secretariat function to support the Media Freedom Coalition – a partnership of 50 countries working together to advocate for media freedom and the safety of journalists.
The Foundation will support the coalition, in particular the co-chairs (Canada and the Netherlands), in coordinating activities among members aimed at defending media freedom around the world.
Discover more in our focus areas:
Media Freedom:
Our response to the evolving crisis in Ukraine
As the crisis in Ukraine rapidly escalates, we remain committed to fostering a free media ecosystem and helping journalists to fulfil their vital mission of free, fair and unbiased reporting.
2022 Kurt Schork Awards open for entries
Journalists from around the world can now submit entries for the Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism to win prestigious titles and cash prizes. The entry deadline is midnight GMT on 31 May.
Inclusive Economies:
Thailand pledges to ban forced prison labour after exposé
Last year, reporter Nanchanok Wongsamuth’s ground-breaking investigation for our editorial team revealed that some Thai prisons were forced to make fishing nets for private companies. Her story has influenced Thai officials to pledge on 1 March to ban forced labour in jails across the country.
Europe sizes up renewables to reduce reliance on Russian gas
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe is rethinking its energy strategy. Hugo Greenhalgh, our inclusive economies editor, reports how the Ukraine crisis might be the biggest stimulus to the rollout of renewables in Europe.
Human Rights:
Strengthening access to public health care in Chile
Healthcare in Chile might be free, but not everyone gets the care they need. Our pro bono service TrustLaw connected law firms with social enterprise HoraSalud to develop a pioneering app which is helping rural communities receive greater medical support.
Foreign students fleeing Ukraine battle racism, extortion
Our journalists report on how racism is making it harder for Black and Brown people, especially students, to flee the conflict in Ukraine.
This month we recommend:
Listen: This Thomson Reuters Institute Market Insights podcast on addressing online sexual abuse and exploitation of women and girls in today’s digital world.
Read: This article by the Committee to Protect Journalists on how Afghanistan’s once-thriving media ecosystem is declining rapidly under Taliban rule.
Listen: This BBC Radio 4 episode on what is the key to bringing home our colleague Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran since 2016.
Watch: This video by our editorial team on the high price of America's anti-abortion laws.
Read: This situational analysis by the Partnership Against Child Exploitation (PACE) - a six-member consortium which includes the Foundation - of child labour in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.
Opportunities:
Head of Secretariat, Media Freedom Coalition: This full-time role, based in London, will be responsible for the effective launch and operations of the Media Freedom Coalition.
Project Coordinator, Media Freedom Coalition Secretariat: This fixed-term role, based in London will support the activities of the Secretariat by arranging meeting logistics, record keeping, and coordination across the full range of stakeholders.
Head of Institutional Partnerships, Business Development: The full-time role, based in London, will develop and lead the Institutional Partnerships funding strategy, focused on securing high-value funding from the world’s leading bilateral organisations, trusts and foundations.
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.
