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 Co-founder of Journalists for Human Rights Speaks at Trent November 9FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ben Peterson to Discuss New Approaches to Improving Human Rights in Africa Monday, November 6, 2006, Peterborough Ben Peterson, co-founder and executive director of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to building the capacity of the media in Africa and Canada, will deliver a free, public talk on Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lady Eaton College Lecture Hall at Trent University. Mr. Peterson’s illustrated talk is titled "Improving Human Rights in Africa: A New Approach", and draws upon experiences from his visit to Africa in September 2006. He will also speak about his organization and its mandate. Through numerous partnerships with the African media, JHR is working to build the capacity of local media to report on human rights topics. JHR is a first-of-its-kind NGO – no other organization is currently focused on training West African journalists in human rights issues. Since JHR's founding in 2002, it has sent more journalists abroad than any other Canadian NGO and has positively altered the media landscape in several African nations. Previous to his position with JHR, Mr. Peterson worked in Ghana's Ministry of Justice, leading Ghana's efforts to write reports to the United Nations on various international human rights treaties. He has also worked for the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy, and in the offices of David Bonior, the former democratic whip in the United States House of Representatives. In 2004/2005, Mr. Peterson was awarded an Action Canada Fellowship. -30- For more information, please contact: |
