The world’s most promising young journalists are coming together in London for Future News Worldwide 2019, an international media conference being held at Thomson Reuters Headquarters.
100 aspiring reporters from 53 countries have been selected from 3,000 applicants worldwide. Over two days they will get the latest insights from current media leaders and disruptors while building their own international connections.
Future News Worldwide is developed by the British Council in partnership with leading news and digital media organisations to identify, train and connect the next generation of top international journalists. Delegates gain rare access to world-leading media professionals, with confirmed speakers including:
- Christina Lamb, Sunday Times Chief Foreign Correspondent
- Sreenivasan Jain, New Delhi Television Limited Managing Editor
- Sonny Swe, CEO Frontier Myanmar and star of the TED talk ‘Talking to Spiders in Jail’.
Three of the conference sessions will be streamed on Facebook Live via the British Council’s page, allowing anyone in the world to take part for free.
The event follows last week’s signing of a global pledge to defend media freedom in London, led by the UK and Canadian governments who are working together to defend media freedom and improve the safety of journalists.
Future News Worldwide is a chance for the next generation of journalists to focus on the core skills that underpin the profession. Topics under the lens will include media freedom and responsibility; truth and transparency; empowering audiences and challenging cynicism.
Sir Ciaran Deváne, Chief Executive British Council, commented: “Future News Worldwide attracts some of the world's most promising young journalists. They have a vital role to play in informing the population of their own countries as well as people around the world. This conference builds their international outlook and professional skills to help them tackle the opportunities and challenges of fast evolving digital media.”
Mark Wood, former Editor-in-Chief of Reuters and Chair of the Future News Advisory Board, said: "Future News Worldwide promotes the importance of free media and the key tenets of responsible journalism. It gives the participants the chance to meet outstanding media figures, visit famous newsrooms and learn research, editing and production skills in a series of workshops. A lively alumni network demonstrates how much those who took part in previous events truly value the experience and put it to work in their professional lives."