LONDON 18 August - The International News Safety Institute has joined forces with
Abraji, the
Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism, to set up a new organisation,
INSI Latin America, which will work to promote the safety of journalists in the region.
INSI and Abraji are natural partners. Abraji is a year older than INSI and was formed in response to the brutal murder of Globo journalist Tim Lopes in 2002. It looks after the interests of investigative journalists, who are under greatest threat around the world.
INSI works for the greater safety of all journalists and news professionals around the globe, providing safety advice and training free of charge to those in need.
Both organisations are run by journalists for journalists and other news media workers, in all kinds of hostile environments.
Once operational, INSI Latin America, a non-profit organisation, will work independently under the umbrella of the INSI safety code, following INSI safety practices and liaising with INSI headquarters on training projects and the exchange of safety information. Although initially based in Brazil, INSI Latin America will eventually expand throughout the region as a resource for all news media staff in need of advice and guidance.
"This is an exciting new stage in the global development of INSI and we are delighted to have Abraji as a partner," said INSI Director Rodney Pinder.
"We share a deep-seated commitment to greater safety for those working to bring home quality news, and we are both determined to make the world safer for journalists who risk their lives to shine the light of truth on the darkest recesses of our societies."
To begin with, INSI Latin America will operate out of Abraji's office in Sao Paulo. The founding Director will be INSI global board member Marcelo Moreira, president-elect of Abraji and Editor in Chief of RJTV's Second Edition, a TV news channel of Brazilian media organisation Globo, based in Rio de Janeiro. He will supervise the build-up of INSI Latin America to operational levels.
“This is one of the greatest moment for the safety of journalists in Latin America," Moreira said. "Based on INSI's worldwide experience, we will be able to develop the best tools to diminish danger for those who work in our region.”
Abraji's current president, Fernando Rodrigues, a reporter at the daily newspaper "Folha de S.Paulo", said: "The initiative of having an INSI section in Latin America, based in Brazil, is a big step towards providing better safety conditions for thousand of reporters in this region. Abraji is proud to be a partner with INSI and I am sure this venture will be a landmark in terms of producing better journalism, not only in Brazil but in the whole of Latin America."
Globo TV News Director Carlos Henrique Schroder said his organisation welcomed the initiative.
“Globo TV, as member of INSI since 2005, closely follows the work that INSI does in Brazil and around the world," he said. "The creation of INSI in Latin America will greatly contribute to increasing the safety of journalists in the region.”
