Governance and Human Rights

Good governance and fair societies rely on strong, independent journalism. Thomson Reuters Foundation is at the forefront of efforts to make sure that news organisations around the world are capable and confident to fulfil their responsibility as the public's watchdog.

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It is the role of the press to hold governments, politicians, businesses and individuals accountable. The extent to which they are allowed or capable to do this varies greatly around the world.

Drawing heavily on the Reuters Principles of accuracy, integrity, independence and freedom from bias, we run a range of programmes that focus on everything from elections and parliamentary reporting, to investigating illicit financial flows and covering the global oil and gas industries.

Programmes

Reporting Transnational Organised Crime

Transnational organized crime (TOC) is a serious threat to international peace, good governance and development - and is on the rise globally, including across Africa. It is an obstacle to reducing poverty, distorts local economies and undermines development efforts. By reporting on criminal activity, monitoring the integrity and independence of governance and mobilizing public opinion, independent journalists and the media are critical to holding governments to account and mobilizing civil society
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Elections Reporting

Media freedom and professional reporting are both essential requirements for a free and fair election. When the media plays its role as a balanced information source for the public and a tool for accountability, elections are more likely to be fair. But covering an election is complex and challenging.
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Reporting Land Rights

We provide journalists across the world with the necessary knowledge and skills to help them understand and cover this issue. The programme also builds on the Foundation’s existing expertise on land and property rights, which comes from running PLACE, a dedicated news platform covering this issue with a team of journalists and correspondents all over the world.
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Reporting Liberia's extractive industries

Mining and other extractive industries could make a major contribution to Liberia's development - if managed wisely and in the interests of citizens. This programme supports independent media in Liberia to produce accurate and insightful coverage of the sector.
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Reporting extractives in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea

The Thomson Reuters Foundation is building the capacity of journalists in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea to produce high-quality coverage of mining and other extractive industries, with the objective of providing better information to citizens and informing policy.
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Caring for Vulnerable Children in a Fractured World

Thomson Reuters Foundation, in partnership with UBS Optimus Foundation, aims to raise awareness across three key regions (Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Africa) of the impact of institutional care on children. This programme offers journalists the tools to stimulate public debate and contribute to policy change by exploring what the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child might mean by the “best interests” of the child, by analysing the role of child protection or philanthropy in care systems, or by examining the impact of phenomena such as “voluntourism”.

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Reporting LGBT+ Rights

Today, 70 countries around the world criminalise consensual same-sex activity or use laws to marginalise and persecute members of the LGBT+ community. Discrimination against LGBT+ people is often reinforced by laws, policies and practices that either fail to take LGBT+ needs into account or deliberately exclude them.
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Economic and Political Reporting in South Eastern Europe

The news media in Southeast Europe is increasingly required to report on complex economic, financial and political issues. Lacking the appropriate experience journalists are under-prepared to provide the public with an adequate coverage of economic and political transitional process. In 2007, Robert Bosch Stiftung and Thomson Reuters Foundation initiated the programme “Economic and Political Reporting from Southeast Europe” for journalists from the Balkans.

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Exploring Corporate Impact

TRF partners with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to offer you the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of why business should report on the sustainability of its strategy, operations and investments. The private sector plays a vital role in sustainable development and the media should explore the impact that business has, particularly when it comes to environmental, social and governance issues.

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Uncovering Security

Independent media plays a key role in reporting conflict and security, and identifying threats before they emerge. This programme stimulates collaboration between journalists and researchers and assists them to uncover major security challenges.

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