The work of the Rory Peck Trust has been recognised in a new exhibition at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London, highlighting the work of journalists reporting from conflict zones. Officially opened today by the Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP, the exhibition aims to raise awareness of media freedom across Whitehall.
The Trust is one of just three organisations featured, alongside the Thomson Reuters Foundation and Reporters Without Borders. Also included is the work of the Media Freedom Coalition — a partnership of more than 50 countries, co-founded by the UK in 2019 to defend press freedom globally. The exhibition showcases the work of Rory Peck Awards winners Josh Baker and Jess Kelly, and features a compelling image of Palestinian photojournalist and Awards finalist Samar Abu Elouf, taken in the aftermath of an airstrike in Gaza.
Introducing the Foreign Secretary to the Trust’s work, Executive Director Jon Williams underscored the urgency of the moment.
“After the deadliest year on record for journalists — with record numbers imprisoned or forced into exile — it cannot be business as usual,” said Williams. “Journalists are the canaries in the coal mine of democracy. Freedom is in retreat. Countries that believe in a free press must act to protect it — and act now.”
For the past year, the Rory Peck Trust has led a coalition of press freedom groups urging the UK to introduce emergency humanitarian visas for journalists at risk. A High Level Panel of Legal Experts, appointed by the Media Freedom Coalition, concluded such visas would be the most effective measure to improve global press freedom. While countries including Canada, Germany and the Baltic states have already acted, the UK — despite co-founding the Coalition — has yet to do so.
