Thomson Reuters Foundation is a London-based charitable arm of
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre.
Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...
, a Canadian news conglomerate. The Foundation is registered as a charity in the United States and United Kingdom and is headquartered in
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...
, London.
Antonio Zappulla
Antonio Zappulla is the CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters. The foundation is an independent charity registered in the UK and the US.
Education
Zappulla has a Master's degree in Islam and Middle Eas ...
has been CEO since 2016.
History
Beginnings
In September 1997, the Reuters Foundation launched AlertNet, a website providing free humanitarian news and information. AlertNet was set up in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwanda genocide as a response to criticism of the slow media response and poorly coordinated activities of the relief agencies on the ground. AlertNet aimed to facilitate co-ordination among relief workers. In 2004, the Foundation created, Iraq's first independent national news agency,
Aswat al-Iraq
Aswat al-Iraq (in Arabic اصوات العراق, Kurdish ئهسوات ئهلعیراق) is an independent national news agency in Iraq, established in 2004. Funded by the United Nations Development Program, and with assistance from the R ...
(Voices of Iraq), with support from the
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
(UNDP) and the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECI).
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Following the acquisition of
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
by the Canadian group
Thomson Corporation
The Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organisation Ltd (ITOL) and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to fo ...
on 17 April 2008, the Foundation was transformed under the leadership of Monique Villa. The Foundation scaled down its grant making activities, revamped existing programs and launched new projects – all aimed at leveraging the skills and expertise of the company.
In January 2010, with the
Haitian earthquake, the Foundation launched an Emergency Information Service (EIS) aimed at providing practical, life-saving information to survivors in local languages.
Key programmes
TrustLaw
TrustLaw is a legal program created in 2010 that connects the law firms and corporate legal teams with NGOs and social enterprises to provide legal
pro bono
( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
.
Journalism and media training
From 1983, The Foundation provides skills-based training programmes to reporters worldwide in seven languages and across 170 countries. As of 2015, over 15,000 journalists have been trained internationally on 27 specialised training topics.
The Foundation also sets up and manages independent news platforms. The Foundation launched Aswat Masriya in 2011, an independent Egyptian news website which closed in 2017 due to lack of funding. Ahead of the country's first general elections in November 2015, the Foundation also launched
Myanmar Now
Myanmar Now is a news agency based in Myanmar (Burma). Myanmar Now journalists publish bilingual Burmese and English articles on an eponymous online news portal. The agency provides free syndication throughout the country, with a distribution net ...
, a new portal dedicated to free and independent journalism in Myanmar led by Burmese journalists. The latter won the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
’s Lorenzo Natali Media Prize 2015 for a feature on underage sex workers.
Set up in 2006 and part of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, the Foundation funds the
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) is a UK-based research centre and think tank founded in 2006, which operates Thomson Reuters Journalism Fellowship Programme, also known as the Reuters Fellowship.
History
The institute ...
(RISJ), a research centre for international
comparative journalism
Journalism culture is described as a "shared occupational ideology among newsworkers". The term journalism culture spans the cultural diversity of journalistic values, practices and media products or similar media artifacts. Research into the co ...
.
In 2012, the Foundation was one of the co-founders of the
European Press Prize
The European Press Prize is an award programme for excellence in journalism across all 47 countries of Europe. It was founded in 2012 by seven European media foundations: The Guardian Foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Jyllands-Posten Found ...
.
Thomson Reuters Foundation News
The foundation has correspondents and freelancers in the major cities and developing nations. The editorial team led by Belinda Goldsmith covers human rights, inclusive economies and media freedom, including women's rights, LGBT+ rights, human trafficking and modern slavery, property rights and digital and climate change.
Perception polls
The Foundation has created polls for The World’s Most Dangerous Countries for Women (2011), Best and Worst
G20
The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, ...
Countries for Women (2012), Best and Worst
Arab League
The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
Countries for Women (2013), the Most Dangerous Transport Systems for Women (2014), and the Five Key Issues Facing Women Working in the G20 (2015). In 2018 the foundation released a poll that ranked India as the most dangerous country for women. The report was rejected by India's
National Commission for Women
The National Commission for Women (NCW) is the statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of the I ...
and the
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) is an Indian research institute for the social sciences and humanities. It was founded in 1963 by Rajni Kothari and is largely funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research Govt ...
and news media due to poor methodology and lack of transparency.
Trust Conference
Trust Conference, formerly Trust Women, works for law behind human rights and fight
modern slavery
Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 46 mil ...
. Past speakers have included
Cherie Blair
Cherie, Lady Blair, (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Tony Blair.
Early life and education
Booth ...
,
Queen Noor
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
of Jordan, and Nobel laureates
Kailash Satyarthi
Kailash Satyarthi (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian social reformer who campaigned against child labor in India and advocated the universal right to education. In 2014, he was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Malala You ...
and
Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance ...
.
As part of the Trust Women Conference's program, Monique Villa announced the launch of the Stop Slavery Award, a new initiative by the Thomson Reuters Foundation to recognise companies supporting the fight against modern slavery in their supply chains. The first Award was conferred in November 2016. Under the program, the Thomson Reuters Foundation worked with the office of the
Manhattan District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws ...
and major U.S. financial institutions to issue international guidance aimed at helping the wider financial communities to identify and report irregularities in financial transactions linked to
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
.
Awards
* In 2015, The Foundation editorial team won the Asian Environmental Journalism Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting by a Media Organisation,
as well as a
United Nations Correspondents Association The United Nations Correspondents Association (U.N. Correspondents Association), or UNCA, was founded in New York City in 1948. It has over 250 members today. It presents the annual UNCA Excellence in Journalism Awards. The purpose of the awards ...
UN Foundation prize.
* In 2012, AlertNet Climate was selected as an Official Honouree of the 16th Annual
Webby Awards
The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...
in the Green category.
* In 2011, AlertNet was awarded the "Voices of Courage" Award by the
Women's Refugee Commission
The Women's Refugee Commission is a 501(c)(3) Non-Governmental Organization that aims to improve the lives and protect the rights of Women, Children, and Youth displaced by conflict or crisis. Established in 1989 by Norwegian Actress and film ...
(WRC).
* In 2011, AlertNet was awarded an
EPPY Award for the "Best News Website" category.
* In 2011, the Foundation received an EPPY Award for "Best Overall Website Design" for its online platform, Trust.org.
* AlertNet received a gold trophy for "Best News Site" at the
Lovie Awards
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences or IADAS is an international organization founded in 1998 in New York City to help drive the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet and evolving forms of interactive and ...
.
* In March 2011, the Foundation won the "Best Use of New Media" award for its Emergency Information Service (EIS) at the Third Annual Social Innovation Awards hosted by Justmeans.
* TrustMedia received a "Commended Company" designation by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for its innovative journalist training on health reporting.
* In 2010, the Foundation was awarded the Best Annual Report Award at the Digital Communications Awards.
* In 2010, "Surviving the Tsunami: Stories of Hope”, a Thomson Reuters Foundation multimedia documentary created for the fifth anniversary of the
Indian Ocean tsunami
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
, was nominated for an Emmy award and won a prize at the Best of Photojournalism Awards. The documentary was also a finalist in the 2010
Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma and named Best Web Special Feature by Editor & Publisher.
* AlertNet was named a
Millennium Product by the British government, an award for outstanding application of innovative technology.
References
External links
*
Trust.orgThomson Reuters Foundation Annual Report 2013Trust Women Conference
{{Authority control
Organizations established in 1982
Charities based in London
Foundations based in the United Kingdom
Foundations based in England
1982 establishments in England