Reporting on Trafficking and Slavery India
Dates: 04 May 08 May | Location: Online
Application deadline: 26 April | Programme: Reporting on Trafficking and Slavery
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This is an opportunity provided by the Reporting on Trafficking and Slavery programme: Find out more

Migration and the global trade in human beings is bigger today than at any time in history. Estimates of the numbers of people caught in modern slavery vary from 21 million to 36 million in an industry worth more than $150 billion in illegal profits a year. The world’s refugee crisis now involves 68 million people displaced from their homes, a record high. It’s one of the biggest stories of our time. Yet a lot of reporting on trafficking and forced labour is mired in cliché, myth and misconception. It often lacks nuanced understanding of the causes of the scourge and the tools to fight it.

Thomson Reuters Foundation’s five-day Online 'Reporting on Trafficking and Slavery' course is a unique chance for journalists from India to gain practical skills and knowledge and work on your story ideas with guidance from experienced Thomson Reuters journalists.

With support from the Laudes Foundation, the workshop offers a combination of specialist expertise and hands-on training, with an emphasis on producing high-impact stories for widespread dissemination.

As well as coming away with a deep understanding of the scale, nature and causes of the problem, participants will learn about efforts to set global standards for combating modern slavery, including fundamental conventions, international instruments and a new, legally binding protocol that requires countries to take real action.

They will discuss the role of media in raising awareness, reducing vulnerability and holding to account governments, law enforcement and businesses. Attendees will look at innovative approaches to fighting trafficking and forced labour and reporting on migration and scrutinise the quest for integrated policy responses across borders.

A major focus will be on the ethics of reporting slavery, from how to interact sensitively with traumatised survivors to getting past journalists’ own preconceived notions and stereotypes. We will cover safety issues, particularly when it comes to dealing with sources and reporting on organised crime. We will have speakers with expert knowledge on the migration crisis.

This is an opportunity to pick the brains of reporters who have done extraordinary investigative work or groundbreaking reportage that has changed policy, provoked public outcry or brought traffickers to justice. Attendees will also spend time with experts and those at the coal face of the anti-slavery movement and migration crisis, including some who have been trafficked themselves and gone on to help others move from “victims” to “survivors”.

The training will be remote learning, and all interactions with trainers and other participants will be done over Zoom.

Participants should be able to commit to 4 hours of live classes per day during the week, with 1-2 hours of offline reading or assignments done on their own schedule. Timings of sessions: 9am - 1pm (New Delhi time)

Participants must have access to reliable internet for video conferencing; a modest stipend is available for anyone who might need extra data during the course period.

Course Trainers

Kavita Chandran is an international journalist who has worked for Reuters, Bloomberg and CNBC across countries as reporter, anchor, editor and trainer for the last 23 years. She is a published author and continues to write for various publications, including CNBC Asia. She also ran her own wellness magazine for three years, and currently works as a content consultant and journalism teacher. An alum of Columbia University, Kavita has been living in Singapore since 2011.

Arijit Sen is an independent journalist. A large part of his work is in India’s northeast where he was based. Arijit is a three-time recipient of India's Ramnath Goenka Award in Journalism for his reporting from the region. His work includes a range of reports including on the labour rights of tea plantation workers and coal mining in Meghalaya. His joint investigation on human trafficking in Assam received the Red Ink Award. On human trafficking work Arijit continues to collaborate with groups in Meghalaya and Jharkhand. He has also worked for Amnesty International India.

Who Can Apply

Applicants must be full-time journalists or regular contributors to media organisations in India. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a commitment to a career in journalism in their country, must be a senior journalist with a minimum of three years’ professional experience and have a good level in spoken and written English

Course Logistics

Thomson Reuters Foundation can cover data costs for participants.  This arrangement is subject to variation. If you have any questions please email: TRFMedia@thomsonreuters.com
 

Meet Our Experts

When applying you will be asked to upload the following documents - please have these ready:

  • 2 relevant work samples (maximum file size 5 MB) – in English if possible. For stories not in English, please include a 250-word English summary about the story. 
  • A letter from your editor consenting to your participation in the programme and committing to publish/broadcast resulting stories

If you have any difficulties applying, please email trfmedia@thomsonreuters.com. 

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Reporting on Trafficking and Slavery
  • We provide journalists across the world with the necessary knowledge and skills to produce reports and undertake investigations on migration,human trafficking and modern slavery.

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