MEAA is proud to present, in collaboration with the International Federation of Journalists and the Walkley Foundation, the 2016 Press Freedom Australia Dinner on May 6, 2016, featuring keynote speaker Adele Ferguson – recently named the 2016 Graham Perkin Journalist of the Year.

The dinner raises money for MEAA’s Media Safety and Solidarity Fund, which provides support for journalists in conflict zones in the Asia-Pacific, as well as emergency assistance in times of disaster. It also funds the education of the children of slain journalists; see below for more details.

The dinner also marks the release of the annual State of Press Freedom in Australia report, an assessment of the threats to press freedom over the past 12 months.

Adele Ferguson, 2014 Gold Walkley winner, is a senior business writer and columnist for leading Fairfax newspapers The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review. She is also the author of best-selling unauthorised biography Gina Rinehart: The Untold Story of the Richest Woman in the World. Prior to joining Fairfax, Adele was a senior commentator with The Australian. She has also worked at BRW Magazine as deputy editor and chief business commentator, leading many major investigations into the corporate sector. Adele has a bachelor of economics and a bachelor of arts from Adelaide University.

Date: Friday May 6, 2016
Time: 6.30PM for 7.00PM
Venue: Ivy Ballroom, Ivy, 320 George Street, Sydney
Dress: Cocktail attire
Tickets: Media, not-for-profits and Press Council conference attendees $140 plus GST, others $350 plus GST.
RSVP: Friday April 29. To book individual tickets or enquire about table sponsorships contact melissa.mcallister@meaa.org.

Where the money goes
The Media Safety and Solidarity Fund assists journalists in the Asia-Pacific region through times of emergency, war and hardship. Established in 2005, the fund is a tangible product of strong inter-regional media partnership.

It is administered by the Media Safety and Solidarity trustees. The trustees direct the Asia-Pacific office of the International Federation of Journalists to implement projects to be funded by the MSSF. Learn more about the Fund here.

Nepal
Nepal’s rocky transition to democracy has taken its toll on the country’s media community. Many children of journalists have lost one of their parents, and their families struggle to sustain their livelihoods. In 2015, MSSF is supporting the education of 30 children. It is also helping the media industry get back on its feet after the devastation of the Gorkha earthquake on April 25.

Philippines
Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded. Up to a dozen journalists were killed by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, including two radio journalists working to keep their community informed when the storm surge struck Tacloban. The Media Safety and Solidarity Fund provided emergency assistance support for the families affected and journalist colleagues. The massacre of 32 media personnel, among a group of 58, in the southern Philippines on November 2009, is the world’s worst single atrocity committed against the media. The MSSF supports the primary and secondary education of more than 86 Filipino children, the sons and daughters of slain journalists.

Pakistan
Pakistan is now the most dangerous country for jounalists in the Asia-Pacific region. Last year, 14 journalists were murdered. Almost all were directly targeted. The MSSF trustees have agreed to establish an education fund, based on the Nepal and Philippines models, to assist the children of these journalists.

The MSSF also works in Vanuatu, Sri Lanka and China to support the families of journalists and advocate for the rights of journalists and media workers.

Learn more about MEAA’s  Press Freedom activities.