Nobel Laureate Dmitry Muratov, Climate Justice Activist Vanessa Nakate and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe amongst speakers at Trust Conference 2022

More than 50 globally renowned public figures, including climate change experts, human rights defenders, policymakers, businesses leaders and digital rights pioneers, will speak at the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s human rights forum Trust Conference on October 26 & 27 in London.

Among them is Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize winner, who will open the first day of the Conference with a keynote speech. Climate Justice Activist Vanessa Nakate will open the second day. Thomson Reuters Foundation Project Manager and activist Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – who was jailed in Iran on false charges and released earlier this year – will also be speaking.

Now in its 10th year, Trust Conference addresses the most critical threats facing humanity at the intersection of socio-economic inclusion, sustainability, media freedom and human rights.

Delegates will have access to two full days of keynote speeches, panel discussions, spotlight sessions and fireside chats that will showcase the latest of the Foundation’s work, whilst also providing a platform for the exchange of global expertise, frontline experience and extraordinary insights.

With a focus on defending media freedom and digital rights, the first day of the conference will welcome esteemed international journalist Christiane Amanpour CBE to the stage alongside winners of the 2021 and 2022 Kurt Schork Awards. Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, will be joined by a panel of legal experts, academics, and journalists to explore how the law is being weaponised around the world to inhibit independent and impartial news reporting and compromise journalists’ safety, as well as how it can be used to protect them.

An array of digital rights experts, including Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO and the cast of Netflix documentary The Great Hack, will discuss the multifaceted threats and opportunities that technology poses to human rights at the dawn of the Metaverse.

Hosted just over one week before global leaders gather for COP27, climate experts will join the second day of the conference to explore key issues arising from climate change and the destabilising effect of the Ukraine crisis on fuel security. Under-Secretary-General for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, will discuss the findings of UNEP’s new emissions gap report (to be published 27 October) and look ahead to key topics that will arise at COP27.

Amidst the fallout of multiple converging global crises, businesses and development organisations alike are striving to institute more responsible practices and sustainable strategies. Sector leaders will explore solutions to safeguard progress, including Katica Roy, CEO of Pipeline; Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, CEO of Oxfam GB; Mark Malloch-Brown, President of Open Society Foundations; Ashley Orbach, Director, Environment and Supply Chain Innovation at Apple; and Lara Wolters, Member of European Parliament.

Antonio Zappulla, Chief Executive Officer of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said: “The agenda for this year’s Trust Conference is one of the strongest yet, and I am thrilled to be coming back together in-person for our 10th year as we hear from some of the most celebrated voices in their fields.

“The carefully curated content across the two days demonstrates not only the breadth of the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s work to protect free, fair and informed societies, but the extent of the varied and complex challenges we face. While distinct, these threats carry many interdependencies. That is why experts from across their respective fields need to come together to exchange expertise, be given space and freedom to innovate, and the ability to take action together. This is the power of Trust Conference.”

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