ANNUAL SAFETY
COORDINATION MEETING
2023
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
320 E 43 St, New York, NY, 10017
OCTOBER 11-12
AGENDA
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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 11
8.30am
SECURITY & SIGN IN
Light breakfast, tea and coffee on arrival
9am to 1.30pm
SAFETY WORKSHOPS FOR EDITORS & FREELANCE JOURNALISTS
BY INDIVIDUAL INVITE ONLY - SCHEDULE TO FOLLOW
1.30-2.00pm
LUNCH
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2.30 -3.00pm
SECURITY & SIGN IN
for afternoon arrivals
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3.00 to 5.30pm
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY WORKING GROUP ANNUAL MEETING
BY INDIVIDUAL INVITE ONLY
Members of the Psychological Safety Group report back on 2023 activities and share lessons learned, outcomes and future plans with the aim of building consensus around 2024 priorities, including recommendations for advancing the support of journalists’ mental health.
Moderator
Bruce Shapiro Executive Director, The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma
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Agenda:
3.00 to 3.10pm
Welcome.
Meeting structure and issues framing
3.10 - 3:35pm
Case studies followed by Q&A
Presenters
Laxmi Parthasarathy, Global Press
Pu Ying Huang, Texas Tribune
3:35 - 4:20pm
Moral injury and vicarious trauma
What is moral injury and vicarious trauma? What do we know about these? How are journalists being affected by these and how do we address them?
Presenters
Hannah Storm, Headlines Network
Lauren Walsh, Gallatin Photojournalism Lab, NYU
4:20 - 4:35pm
Coffee break
4:35pm
Small-group discussion and report back
We’ll break into smaller groups to identify shared priorities and discuss recommendations to key stakeholders (newsrooms, journalists, NGOs, funders and researchers).
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5:10pm
Plenary Discussion: Building consensus priorities & recommendations
5:25 - 5:30 pm
Wrap up
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6.00pm to 8.00pm
Drinks Reception hosted by 2402 Foundation for ALL PARTICIPANTS
at Committee to Protect Journalists
RSVP here
THURSDAY OCTOBER 12
By invitation only
8.30 to 9.00am
SECURITY & SIGN IN
Light breakfast, tea and coffee on arrival
9.00 to 9.15am
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
Outline of the day ahead, including meeting objectives and a brief recap of day one.
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9.15 to 10.30am
SAFETY INITIATIVES: REPORTING BACK | LOOKING FORWARD
ACOS signatories, partners and guests share experiences, insights, new initiatives and lessons learned in this session focused on information sharing, coordination and opportunities for future collaboration.
Moderator
Elisabet Cantenys, Executive Director, ACOS Alliance
10.30 to 10.45am
COFFEE BREAK
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10.45 to 12.00pm
MORNING BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Pick one of two. Each session will report back to the plenary.
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1) Weaponizing the Law Against Journalists: Threats and Responses
As the use of lawfare against independent media becomes increasingly common, this session reviews the landscape and impact of legal attacks against journalists and explores the strategies being used to counter these, including available support options, current gaps and potential responses and solutions.
Moderator
Dana Green, Senior Counsel, The New York Times Company
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2) Sharing Safety Initiatives for Under-resourced Newsrooms
In recent years, a number of ACOS signatories have developed initiatives to help under-resourced newsrooms embed safety best practices and improve their duty of care. This session shares these initiatives and explores their different approaches, impact and lessons learned, whilst also seeking to gather input and feedback from partners, editors and freelancers. ​
Moderators
Jon Cherry, Freelance Photographer + Salima Belhadj, Editor in Chief, AFPTV North America
12-12.30pm
GLOBAL JOURNALISM SAFETY SURVEY
The ACOS Alliance is developing a periodical global survey dedicated to the safety challenges, needs and practices of journalists and news media organizations. This session seeks to gather input from the ACOS community.
Moderator
Elisabet Cantenys, Executive Director, ACOS Alliance
12.30 -1.45pm
NETWORKING LUNCH
1.45 - 2.45pm
PRINCIPLES VERSUS PROTOCOLS: HOW TO EMBED A CULTURE OF SAFETY
ACOS advocates for sustained, long-term culture change when it comes to journalist safety. For media organizations this means adopting an organizational approach where newsrooms and managers have the confidence to create robust and inclusive safety practices and protocols. But what, in practical terms, does a culture of safety look like? Media organizations large and small, established and new, share their different approaches.
Moderator
Gina Chua, Executive Editor, Semafor
2.45 - 3.45pm
AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Pick one of two. Each session will report back to the plenary.
a) Hotspots: Forecasting the Next Safety Crisis Areas
Editors, journalists and safety specialists share research, forecasts and first hand experiences to build a picture of upcoming safety threats and hotspots, with the aim of formulating recommendations that can help organizations and journalists prepare for the safety challenges to come.
Moderator
Marc Perkins, Head of Investigations, World Service, BBC
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b) Safety Training: What Works and What's New?
A working session focussed on safety training innovations, successes and lessons learned from 2023, including the results from this year’s safety training mapping and a recent ACOS Alliance freelancer training survey.
Moderator:
Sally Fitton, Director, TV and Film Projects, Secret Compass
3.45 to 4pm
TEA BREAK
4 to 5pm
BUILDING CONSENSUS & WRAP UP
A recap of the day’s key themes and priorities, including the formulation of practical recommendations and next steps for ACOS partners and community to take forward.
Moderator
Maria Salazar Ferro, President, ACOS Alliance and Director, Newsroom Safety & Resilience, The New York Times Company
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A summary report of the meeting's key activities and findings will be distributed to the wider ACOS community.
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