Elizabeth Neuffer Forum on Human Rights and Journalism

I encourage readers in the Boston area to attend a terrific event taking place tomorrow at the John F. Kennedy Library: The Elizabeth Neuffer Forum on Human Rights and Journalism, sponsored by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). The program tomorrow focuses on women in Islam and reporting. Here are the details:

Date: Thursday, March 29
Time: 10:30am – 1:00pm
Location: Smith Hall, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library,
Columbia Point, Boston, Massachusetts

Panel moderator:
Eleanor Clift, contributing editor at Newsweek and co-chair of the IWMF’s board of directors.

Panelists:
Geneive Abdo, Gallup Organization
Huda Ahmed, reporter, Iraq; 2006-07 Elizabeth Neuffer IWMF Fellow
Irfana Anwer, KARAMAH (Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights)
Kishwer Falkner, Baroness of Margravine (first Muslim frontbencher in the House of Lords)
Lily Zakiyah Munir, Indonesian human rights activist, Centre for Pesantren and Democracy Studies

Keynote:
General (Ret’d) William Nash, U.S. Army Commander in post-Dayton Bosnia, currently directing the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Elizabeth Neuffer was a dedicated and courageous foreign correspondent for the Boston Globe who was killed while on assignment in Iraq in 2003. I was privileged to know Elizabeth as a friend. More than any journalist I got to know in the course of my Foreign Service career, Elizabeth cared deeply about the human dimension of international policy, conflict and war. Her sensitivity to and belief in upholding human dignity was reflected in her reporting and in the way she lived her life. Her book, The Keys to My Neighbor’s House, is a thoughtful and compelling treatment of the questions of peace, justice and reconciliation in Bosnia and Rwanda, and a must-read for anyone teaching or writing in the area of human rights.

The recent shuttering of the Boston Globe’s foreign offices is a real loss to the Globe readership and an unfortunate symptom of broader cut-backs to foreign operations in print newspapers and other media. Today, particularly, we need more, not fewer, journalists on the ground around the world who can help keep the American electorate (and elected) better informed about and sensitive to the human effects of U.S. policies. (See Pam Constable’s eloquent defense of foreign correspondents in last month’s Washington Post.)

Tomorrow’s forum should be an excellent opportunity to underscore the importance of human rights reporting and the ways in which reporting can bridge gaps in understanding between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. Walk-ins are welcome.