Journalists for Human Rights Night for Rights 2017

MEDIA CALL: Journalists for Human Rights to welcome Canadian Senator and Rt. Lt-Gen. Roméo Dallaire, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen, the Lieutenant-General of Ontario, Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Raptors President Masai Ujiri, Indigenous Affairs Minister David Zimmer, CTV News' Lisa LaFlamme, Global News' Dawna Friesen, CBC's Adrienne Arsenault and Ian Hanomansing, media personalities to Night for Rights fundraising gala

TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2017 /CNW/ - Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) will celebrate the global impact of human rights journalism at its annual Night for Rights gala in Toronto, Ontario. JHR will also be celebrating its 15^th anniversary since it began training journalists to report on human rights issues at home and abroad.

Lisa LaFlamme, Chief Anchor and Senior Editor for CTV National News, Masai Ujiri, President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, Michael Cooke, Editor of the Toronto Star, Troy Reeb, Senior Vice-President of News, Global; radio and Station Operations for Corus, Catherine Cano, Chief Executive Officer of CPAC, Canada's Cable Public Affairs Channel and Richard Linley, President of the Wine Council of Ontario will co-chair this year's event which will be hosted by  the CBC's Adrienne Arsenault and Ian Hanomansing.

JHR is honoured to have Canadian Senator and Rt. Lt-Gen. Roméo Dallaire as this evening's keynote speaker. Throughout his career, Rt. Lt Gen. Dallaire has always drawn national and international attention to important global human rights issues including the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide and the recruitment of child soldiers. Rt. Lt Gen. Dallaire's work is a reminder of the importance of drawing attention to these issues, no matter how uncomfortable these conversations can be and this is why JHR's work continues to be significant.

"Through strengthening media, JHR has been able to nurture responsible journalism in the countries where it works," says Dallaire. "Earlier this year, in South Sudan JHR was able to help counteract hate speech in local media in Juba. This one of many examples of how JHR's work has helped improve the culture of media in some of the most dangerous places in the world."

Rachel Pulfer, JHR's executive director, will share stories of the impact JHR has had in South Sudan since beginning work there in 2014.

"JHR's work in South Sudan has helped bring attention to abuses taking place against women and girls and shows how even in a failing state, media development represents a powerful force for bringing positive change to the most vulnerable people in the places JHR goes," says Pulfer.

Speakers this evening will focus on JHR's work in Syria and the newly launched Journalism and Media Lab (JAMLab) media entrepreneurship incubator in South Africa, a partnership with the University of Witwatersrand, Ryerson University and the Brookfield Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. JHR will also be giving out its third annual Human Rights Reporting Prize and its first Fraser MacDougall Award for Best New Canadian Voice in Human Rights Reporting.

Journalists for Human Rights partners with the National NewsMedia Council launching new award

JHR is pleased to announce with the National NewsMedia Council of Canada the introduction of a brand new award: the Fraser MacDougall Award for Best New Canadian Voice in Human Rights Reporting. The award is aimed at recognizing the best new Canadian voice working on human rights reporting in campus media today.

The award winner will be announced tonight at the gala. They will receive public recognition, $1000 cash prize and a place in this year's cohort of JHR Ambassadors- a group of individuals whose work and conduct exemplify the best of JHR's core principles of fostering human rights reporting to achieve positive change.

JHR hopes this award will encourage the emergence of young Canadian journalists to see the importance in and to pursue human rights reporting on campuses across the country. 

JHR is hosting a Night for Rights media call with some of the evening's co-chairs and speakers at 5:45 pm at Mattamy Athletic Centre (The Former Maple Leaf Gardens) – 50 Carlton Street, Toronto.  

-Thank you to CNW for sponsoring this release-

Notes for Editors:

Journalists for Human Rights (www.jhr.ca) is Canada's leading media development organization. JHR trains journalists to report ethically and effectively on human rights and governance issues in their communities. Since 2002, JHR has trained over 14,500 journalists whose stories have reached over 64 million people.

JHR currently has projects in Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Ontario, South Sudan, and South Africa.

SOURCE Journalists for Human Rights (JHR)

Rachel Pulfer, Executive Director at 416 413 0240 ext. 206, 647 892 9673 (mobile) or [e-mail]