Thomson Reuters Foundation

Thomson Reuters Foundation
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Key people
Services
Website Trust.org

Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information provider. The Foundation is a registered charity in the United States and United Kingdom and is headquartered in Canary Wharf, London.

The Foundation stands for free independent journalism, human rights, women’s empowerment and the rule of law. Using the skills, values and expertise of Thomson Reuters, the Foundation runs programmes including free legal assistance, media development and in-depth coverage of the world’s under-reported stories. The Foundation works to expose corruption worldwide and is active in the global fight against human trafficking.

The current CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation is Monique Villa, a French national and former Managing Director of Reuters Media and Chairman of Action Images. She was ranked 43rd of the world’s 100 most influential people in business ethics in 2011 by Ethisphere.[1]

The Foundation is primarily funded by Thomson Reuters.

Key programmes

TrustLaw

TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation's award-winning service to spread the practice of pro bono worldwide. TrustLaw connects the best law firms and corporate legal teams around the world with NGOs and social enterprises in need of free legal assistance. TrustLaw currently has 1600 members: 1200 NGOs and social enterprises and 350 law firms and corporate counsels.

Journalism and media training

Since 1983, The Foundation has used the Reuters principles of impartiality to train reporters around the world. The Foundation provides practical, skills-based training programmes available in seven languages and across 170 countries. To date, over 12,000 journalists have been trained internationally on 25 highly specialized training topics.

Under-reported stories

Journalism is one of the pillars of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The Foundation's 26 correspondents are dedicated to covering the world's under-reported stories, from human rights abuses to the human impact of climate change, to the social damage poised by endemic corruption.

Perception polls

Developed and produced with the help of some of the world’s leading gender experts, the Foundation's perception polls aim to generate international debate by putting human rights at the top of the news agenda. The Foundation's polls include: The World’s Most Dangerous Countries for Women (2011), Best and Worst G20 Countries for Women (2012), Best and Worst Arab League Countries for Women (2013).

Trust Women

Trust Women's mission is to put the rule of law behind women’s rights through concrete action. In December 2013, the annual conference brought together 450 global leaders from 40 countries including Mexico, Libya, Pakistan, India and China. Over 1,500 people watched ed the event online, and the official conference hashtag #trustwomenconf reached over 1.5 million Twitter accounts.

History

Beginnings

The Reuters Foundation was created in September 1982 to support journalists from developing countries through education and training. This charitable trust funded by the Reuters Group provided cash grants to educational and humanitarian programs around the world.

The Foundation also awarded university fellowships to journalists from developing countries to attend universities in the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

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 coordination among relief workers.[2]

In 2004, the Foundation created, Iraq’s first independent national news agency, Aswat al-Iraq (Voices of Iraq), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECI). The service continues to provide impartial and reliable information in Iraq today.[3][4]

Building on its engagement with journalism training, the Reuters Foundation supported in 2006 the creation of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, a university research centre for international comparative journalism. The Institute is based in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford.

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Following the acquisition of Reuters by the Canadian group Thomson Corporation on the 17th of April 2008, the Foundation was transformed to embrace the wider scope of the company. Under the leadership of the new CEO, 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.[5][6]

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.[7][8]

In 2010 Monique Villa launched TrustLaw, an award-winning service that connects law firms and corporate legal teams around the world with NGOs and social enterprises in need of free legal assistance.

In 2012, the Foundation held the first annual edition of the Trust Women Conference.

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Ethisphere Institute. "2011 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  2. ↑ Women Refugee Commission. "’An interview with our 2011 Voices of Courage Honouree Thomson Reuters Foundation". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Farzad, Roben (July 18, 2005). "Iraq to Get News Service Of Its Own". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  4. ↑ UNDP. "Reaching the Outside World. Media Development". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  5. ↑ Thomson Reuters. "Thomson completes acquisition of Reuters; Thomson Reuters shares begins today". Press Room. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  6. ↑ PR Newswire, United Business Media. "Thomson Reuters Announces New Leadership Team for Foundation". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Thomson Reuters. "Thomson Reuters Foundation pioneers new emergency information service for survivors of natural disasters". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  8. ↑ Bulkley, Kate (18 June 2010). "Mobile technology takes centre stage in disaster relief". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  9. ↑ The Webby Awards. "16th Annual Webby Awards Official Honoree selections". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  10. ↑ Women Refugee Commission. "An interview with our 2011 Voices of Courage Honoree Thomson Reuters Foundation". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 EPPY Awards. "EPPY Awards - 2011 Winners". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  12. ↑ The Lovie Awards. "1st Annual Lovie Honourees". Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  13. ↑ Justmeans. "Winners Of Justmeans 2011 Social Innovation Awards Announced In London, March 25". Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  14. ↑ Business Action on Health Awards, GBCHealth. "Commended Company 2012: Thomson Reuters Foundation". Global Business Coalition on Health. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  15. ↑ Digital Communications Awards 2011. "Winner". Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  16. ↑ National Press Photographers Association. "Best of Photojournalism 2011". Retrieved 28 May 2012.
  17. ↑ "Millennium Products Archive". Design Council. Retrieved 16 July 2012.

External links