Reporters (And Others) Without Borders

By Kate | Permalink |

No Comments | April 21st, 2007 | Trackback

According to Reporters Without Borders, “Today, more than 130 journalists around the world are in prison simply for doing their job. In Nepal, Eritrea and China, they can spend years in jail just for using the “wrong” word or photo…More than a third of the world’s people live in countries where there is no press freedom. Reporters Without Borders works constantly to restore their right to be informed.”

Their main activities are raising awareness and publicity activities, such as writing protest letters, and occasionally organizing some form of in-person protest - like attending a UN meeting with posters of imprisoned journalists. Reporters Without Borders does also assist journalists who are seeking asylum in France through legal assistance and in some cases, providing them with temporary accommodation in one house.

Some pages of the site include a ranking of press freedom in world countries (I found a few surprises here!) and reports on freedom of press issues in different regions…including the Internet.

There are no specific volunteer opportunities as such with Reporters Without Borders though you can of course support the cause by following the site and their news and participating when appropriate. You can also buy one of the Reporters Without Borders books of photos - though it isn’t specified exactly how this benefits the organization.

You might have noticed a trend in the use of “without borders” or “beyond borders”, which is of course used to emphasize the international scope of work. My feeling is that Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres is the best-known of the bunch, and possibly the first, but it’s interesting to see the great variety: Translators Without Borders, Engineers Without Borders, Vets Beyond Borders, Telecoms Without Borders, and even MBA’s Without Borders! Note that these organizations are not necessarily officially connected and typically you need to be qualified in the field you’d like to volunteer in, though that doesn’t always mean in the field in the organization name (for example, those qualified in nursing and logistics can volunteer for Doctors Without Borders).