Sponsored by
Supported by
PROGRAMME
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MONDAY OCTOBER 3
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
320 East 43rd St [between Tudor City Place & Second Avenue]
- recommended entrance
or
321 East 42nd Street (between First & Second Avenue]
By invitation only
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8.30am
SECURITY & SIGN IN
Light breakfast on arrival
9am to 1.45pm
By invitation only
SAFETY WORKSHOPS FOR EDITORS & FREELANCE JOURNALISTS
As part of this year's meeting, commissioning editors and freelancers have been invited to attend dedicated safety workshops delivered by media safety experts from The New York Times, VICE Media, Dow Jones, BuzzFeed, Justice for Journalists, Center for Investigative Journalists and Press Freedom Foundation. These training sessions will address online harassment, source protection and trauma management/mental wellbeing. While the workshops for editors will pay particular attention to developing safety policies and protocols for safe commissioning, freelancers will work on creating robust risk assessments. Both groups will also have the opportunity to attend a VR safety training session on civil unrest led by VICE News in partnership with Headset.
2.30pm
SECURITY & SIGN IN
Refreshments on arrival
3.00 to 5.30pm
By invitation only
TRAUMA WORKING GROUP ANNUAL MEETING
Members of the Trauma Group report back on 2022 activities and lessons learned and share future plans with the aim of building consensus around 2023 priorities and recommendations for supporting journalists’ mental health.
Moderated by Bruce Shapiro, Executive Director, The Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma
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TUESDAY OCTOBER 4
Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice
320 East 43rd St [between Tudor City Place & Second Avenue]
- recommended entrance
or
321 East 42nd Street (between First & Second Avenue]
By invitation only
Participants are expected to attend the full day where possible
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8.45 to 9.00am
SECURITY & SIGN IN
Coffee & tea on arrival
9.00 to 9.30am
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
Maria Salazar-Ferro, President, ACOS Alliance & Director of Newsroom Safety & Resilience, The New York Times
Elisabet Cantenys, Executive Director, ACOS Alliance
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9.30am
SAFETY INITIATIVES: REPORTING BACK | LOOKING FORWARD
ACOS signatories and partners share lessons learned from their safety activities in 2022 and their plans for 2023 in this interactive session focused on information sharing, coordination and opportunities for future collaboration. This session aims to build consensus around priorities and recommendations. It will also include results of ACOS’ annual safety mapping plus short presentations from ACOS partners on new safety initiatives.
Moderated by Elisabet Cantenys, Executive Director, ACOS Alliance
11.00 to 11.15am
COFFEE BREAK
11.15am
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Delegates choose one of the following sessions (60 mins). Groups will convene to report back in plenary (30 mins)
A. SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR EDITORS
How can we empower news editors to buy into a culture of safety and incorporate safety best practice into their everyday working practices? ACOS and signatories share new projects and approaches for input and feedback.
Moderated by Mariona Sanz, Senior Project Manager, Press Freedom & Media Development, WAN-IFRA
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B. A SAFETY TRAINING STRATEGY FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS
The 2021 ACOS meeting highlighted an urgency for safety training that responds to the needs of investigative journalists, with some signatories taking forward key recommendations in 2022. This follow-up meeting seeks to build on that work and advance a safety training strategy for investigative journalists.
Moderated by James Harkin, Director, The Centre for Investigative Journalism and Rowan Philip, Senior Reporter, Global Investigative Journalism Network
C: SAFETY & THE CLASSROOM: PREPARING FUTURE JOURNALISTS
How are we preparing the next generation of journalists to embrace a culture of safety? This group will discuss strategies for introducing undergraduate and graduate students to safety concerns they will likely encounter as journalists, including physical, mental, legal and digital security threats. What approaches are more effective? What challenges do we face and how can we overcome these? The group will formulate practical recommendations.
Moderated by Tom Durkin, Education Program Director, James W. Foley Legacy Foundation
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12.45 to 1.45pm
NETWORKING LUNCH
1.45pm
INSURANCE
This plenary reviews the state of play for freelance insurance, looking at new and current schemes on offer, with updates from ACOS partners and signatories. What barriers, limits and boundaries still exist? How can we work together to advance the range, quality and affordability of policies for all journalists? Includes a presentation from OCCRP’s Drew Sullivan on a new scheme.
Moderated by Salima Belhadj, Editor-in-Chief, AFPTV North America
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2.45 to 3pm
COFFEE BREAK
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3.00pm
COAV ONLINE HARASSMENT NEWSROOM WORKING GROUP
How can newsrooms respond to the rise in online harassment against staff and freelancers? This plenary sets out the need for industry-standard protocols for editors and news managers and the work led by ACOS and PEN America as part of the Coalition Against Online Violence (COAV).
Moderated by Victoria Vilk, Program Director, Digital Safety & Free Expression, PEN America
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3.45pm
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
The invasion of Ukraine highlighted a crisis in the procurement and provision of PPE for local and international freelance journalists covering conflict. What are the lessons learned from Ukraine and how can we retain the collective knowledge gained from tackling the crisis? Can ACOS signatories and partners work together to find a workable plan for the provision of PPE now and in the future?
Moderated by Lucy Westcott, Emergencies Director, Committee to Protect Journalists
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4.45pm
WRAP UP
A wrap up of the day, highlighting key findings, recommendations and takeaways.
Moderated by Elisabet Cantenys, Executive Director, ACOS Alliance
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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 5
The New York Times
15th Floor Conference Center
620 Eighth Avenue, New York
[Entrances on Eighth Ave, 40th & 41st Street]
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