The Thomson Reuters Foundation has published its 2022 Annual Report. This comprehensive report showcases our work over the last year, from key achievements and milestones to an overview of our impact and a detailed breakdown of our annual accounts.
2022 was a busy year for the Foundation, 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. Against this backdrop, the Foundation delivered a wide range of programmatic activities, events and strategic initiatives across our focus areas: advancing media freedom, fostering more inclusive economies and promoting human rights, to support our mission to strengthen free, fair, and informed societies.
Strengthening media freedom ecosystems
The Foundation’s unique combination of media and legal expertise is core to our work, empowering us to identify threats to press freedom, devise innovative solutions and provide vital support to independent media around the world, from funding to legal resources to programmatic initiatives and strategic collaboration.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we provided emergency financial support to several of our key partners in Ukraine, as well as legal assistance through our TrustLaw network and fundraising consultancy and media development support. We also supported exiled Russian and Belarusian journalists to re-establish their operations in other European countries to continue their critical reporting after a clampdown on independent media by the Russian government caused thousands to flee the country.
Through TrustLaw, our pro-bono legal service and the Legal Network for Journalists at Risk (LNJAR), established in collaboration with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Media Defence, we provide practical legal tools to help journalists navigate the complexities of a changing legal landscape. We also partnered with Google’s Jigsaw to launch TRFilter, an innovative tool to help protect journalists from online abuse.
The Foundation was selected to host the Secretariat for the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), a network of over 50 governments working together to promote media freedom through public and private diplomacy, legal reforms, and supporting journalists at risk.
Fostering more inclusive economies
We work to develop fair, sustainable and evidence-based policies, legislation and business practices that consider the interests of, and create opportunities for, all stakeholders. We employ our unique blend of our expertise in journalism, media development, legal research and convening initiatives, with the aim of fostering responsible and sustainable business models and raising awareness of the impact of technology on society.
Throughout 2022, we continued to amplify the ‘S’ in ESG through hosting convenings and trainings on responsible and sustainable business practices, delivering insightful reports such as the ‘Competition Law and Responsible Business Practices’ briefing.
The Foundation aims to combat modern slavery and human trafficking by promoting more effective responses to this pervasive issue and increased collaboration between businesses and civil society organisations (CSOs) in key countries and regions. In 2022, through strategic convenings that foster collaboration and trainings and legal research that enhance understanding, our work brought together journalists, CSOs and the private sector to better grasp the challenges around responsible business practices and labour rights, forge new partnerships and drive robust solutions to protect workers in supply chains. We held the sixth and final Stop Slavery Award ceremony, which recognised companies, non-profit organisations and individuals making vital contributions to combatting slavery. Launched in 2015, the Award has helped to demonstrate the critical role businesses can play in addressing modern slavery; drive transparency in the corporate sector; raise awareness of the crime to global audiences; and inspire companies and organisations to take action.
Enhancing reporting on critical global issues
Last September, we launched one of our most ambitious projects to date, Context, our digital news platform covering three of the most significant and interdependent issues of our time: climate change, the impact of technology on society, and socio-economic inclusion. Since then, through a digital first and data driven approach, the Foundation’s award-winning global news team has been covering a wide range of topics, from exploring the overlaps between climate change and worsening inequalities to the links between increasing technologies and impacts on human rights.
Protecting human rights
Protecting and advancing human rights has always been central to our work. Whether it be reporting on hidden human rights issues, training journalists around the world to do the same, providing free legal support and impactful research to frontline organisations, or convening diverse global actors in this space, all of our work has been focused on empowering individuals and helping to strengthen free, fair and informed societies.
Throughout 2022 our editorial team worked diligently on several high-profile human rights stories, many of which were original investigations. Our investigative film co-produced with TIME exposed how thousands of migrant workers had been pushed to the limits while working in construction ahead of Qatar’s World Cup. We also covered the plight of migrants who risked everything as they crossed the Darién Gap in search of a brighter future in the United States. Openly continues to provide critical coverage of issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community with fair, accurate and balanced reporting. Highlights included stories about how the Ukraine crisis has affected trans and non-binary people, following up with an Afghan man who shared his diaries recounting his escape from Afghanistan, and the impact of key policy changes around the world that inhibit the civil liberties of LGBTQ+ people.
Through TrustLaw, we connected a range of high-impact organisations working at the frontline of advancing human rights around the world with lawyers who provided free assistance to support their legal needs and help them drive change. Our core focuses throughout 2022 were on projects supporting LGBTQ+ rights, sexual and reproductive health, women’s rights and gender-based violence, and climate justice.
Celebrating our work in-person at Trust Conference
Together in-person for the first time in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last October we hosted Trust Conference, the Foundation’s annual flagship event. This two-day convening brought together over 791 delegates from 45 countries to discuss pressing global issues including surging threats to media freedom and digital rights and the need to build more inclusive, equitable and sustainable economies. Highlights from this event include world-leading speakers and experts such as Christiane Amanpour CBE, Chief International Anchor at CNN; Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Laureate and Editor-in-Chief of Novaya Gazeta and Vanessa Nakate, Climate Justice Activist.
To learn more about our achievements and priority projects for each of our focus areas and core services, read our annual report.
The Foundation continues to be driven by its mission to support the vulnerable and disadvantaged, while motivating and empowering others to address the world’s most critical challenges. Find more information about our work here.
