
When you stand up for the dignity of human beings, you are immediately perceived as politicised, said Francesco Rocca, president of the International Red Cross at the 73rd UN General Assembly session on migration, before using a poignant metaphor to describe the shift in how NGOs are perceived - by pointing out that no one questions the role of a firefighter when rescuing people from a burning building.
Moderated by Thomson Foundations OPEN Media Hub team leader, Dominique Thierry, the high-level debate took place in New York on 28th September, 2018, bringing together speakers including the UN special representative for international migration, Louise Arbour, director general of the International Centre for Migration Policy, Michael Spindelegger, and the Tunisian and Maltese foreign ministers, Khemaies Jhinaoui and Carmelo Abela.
Up for discussion were issues such as the narratives constraining world leaders in the migration policies that they can propose, the role of media in the migration debate and how to ensure that all migrants, regardless of legal status, have access to the protection and assistance they need.
Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies briefs press at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly. Credit: UN/Loey Felipe
Early September brought reports of more women, men and children drowning in the Mediterranean after their boat capsized between Libya and Malta. Many of the survivors suffered burns from fuel spillage. Others, including pregnant women and children, were taken to a migrant detention centre in Libya, which has been described as harmful and arbitrary by M decins Sans Fronti res.
Giving migrants back their dignity was key to Francescos speech, and echoed in Dominiques follow-up about the incredibly positive stories coming out from Italy, particularly of the Bangladeshi migrants settled in Palermo and bravely taking on racketeers, and the very important work of public authority officials and the police force to give migrants what they were being deprived of in life, their basic human rights.
The second story was by a journalist trained and mentored as part of Thomson Foundations OPEN Media Hub project . It earned her a first-prize award at the second OPEN Media Hub-supported Migration Media Award in Tunisia that took place a few days before the UNGA.
"OPEN Media Hub has led to award-winning stories bringing about an awakening among policymakers."
Dominique Thierry, Thomson Foundation, team leader, OPEN Media Hub With a migration-reporting curriculum and dedicated online course, with face-to-face and hands-on workshops and production mentoring, the OPEN Media Hub has led to award-winning, tremendous stories bringing about an awakening among policymakers, says Dominique. This was highlighted at the UNGA high-level panel discussion.
-- Play
-- --
Watch Thomson Foundations Dominique Thierry moderate a high-level #UNGA debate on migration at the UN headquarters in New York on September 28th, 2018
The Migration Media Award rewards journalists for in-depth and balanced coverage of migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. In order to win the competition, eligible entries need to consist of an already published story and a proposal for winning an EU-funded contract to produce new content covering migration.
Journalists are under-equipped to foster a new migration narrative away from the victims' stories which lead to a sense of powerlessness, continues Dominique. Thomson Foundation and its partners in the Migration Media Award, aim to foster constructive and solutions-based journalism.
Forty-one journalists from 18 countries were rewarded for journalistic excellence in the way they reported on migration. All winning entries are available here.
Related content
Migration Media Award 2018
Acknowledging the best, and often bravest, in migration coverage from across the spectrum.
Course: The Ethical Journalists Toolkit
A Journalism Now online course designed to increase your ability to cover sensitive subjects and tackle ethical challenges.
Course: Reporting on Migration
An OPEN Media Hub course giving journalists a good understanding of the complex issues of migration, refugees and human trafficking.
Sara Loane Communications Manager
About: Sara is responsible for the creation and delivery of engaging and effective messages, campaigns, publications and print and digital design concepts that support and promote the foundation.
We get around. Explore our project map
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
02/04/2026
Evergent will showcase new innovations in subscriber lifecycle management and monetization at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas, April 18 22), including:
New advances i...
02/04/2026
WUPPERTAL, Germany April 1, 2026 Riedel Communications is proud to be part of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Athletics' milestone...
02/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have today announced new, fully managed, cloud-native Master Control services designed to meet the growing operational demand...
02/04/2026
Avid today announced it will showcase new innovations designed to help media companies win in the new media economy at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas Co...
02/04/2026
PlayBox Neo helps AIS PLAY kick-off premier football content direct to fans
PlayBox Neo has provided MIMO Tech with a brand-new major installation to extend it...
02/04/2026
Globo has transitioned its primary content distribution to Secure Reliable Transport over a fully IP-based managed backbone using Synamedia's Quortex PowerV...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Al-Fadl Salem The Danish singer recently performed for the queen of Denmark.
April 1, 2026
By
Editorial Staff
Image by Junia Morrow
Wh...
02/04/2026
Taku Hirano's Career Is Defined by Identity Whether he's performing, composing, teaching, or developing instruments, the do-it-all percussionist sees ...
02/04/2026
2FM Breakfast to extend on weekday mornings from 6am to 10am
Doireann Garrihy m...
02/04/2026
RT News & Current Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of RT Radio 1 reporter, Barry Lenihan, as Political Correspondent.
Barry has reported across...
02/04/2026
No joke - GFN Thursday is skipping the tricks and heading straight into the games. April kicks off with ten new titles, bringing fresh adventures to GeForce NOW...
01/04/2026
As sports media organization continue to seek out new ways to streamline their p...
01/04/2026
The SVG GFX Forum hit New York City earlier this month for a day packed with sessions focused on the creative strategy and technology behind today's cutting...
01/04/2026
This year, Spotify celebrates the five-year anniversary of EQUAL, our global pro...
01/04/2026
Analogue-style tape splicing in the digital domain
In this era of digital recording and multiple layers of Undo, it seems that the fading art of tape splici...
01/04/2026
Latest release introduces new Orbita Engine
Zero G's latest release marks the start of a new series of libraries, as well as introducing an all-new engi...
01/04/2026
Until now, one format has largely been left behind
Warm Audio's extensive product range includes modern-day recreations of all manner of sought-after s...
01/04/2026
A piano with glass vessels for strings!
The Crow Hill Company's recently released Gong Piano offered a refreshing new take on piano libraries, harnessin...
01/04/2026
Remote Streaming Studio Condenser
Aim Audio have just revealed their latest creation, the ESSENCE RS Remote Streaming Studio Condenser, which becomes the wo...
01/04/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/04/2026
Bilbao, April 1st, 2026 - AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technolog...
01/04/2026
Green Hippo is excited to announce the launch of its new Hippotizer Media Server training courses at Pixel Academy, a purpose built AV learning hub combining ha...
01/04/2026
TAG Video Systems, a global leader in IP-native broadcast monitoring, multiviewing, and quality control, today announced a collaboration with Oracle Cloud Infra...
01/04/2026
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leading provider of wireless audio solutions and RF management, was on site at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, wher...
01/04/2026
AgileTV, a leading provider of end-to-end TV technology solutions, has deployed next , the new IPTV platform of the Austrian telco LIWEST, marking the first st...
01/04/2026
LTN, a leader in fully managed IP video transport, and Ateme, a global leader in video compression and delivery solutions, today announced a collaboration integ...
01/04/2026
Adobe Unveils Powerful New Innovations for Creative Pros in Adobe Illustrator
Deepa Subramaniam April 1, 2026
0 Comments
I'm excited to share that...
01/04/2026
Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Series Monitors for Live P...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Mediagenix Showcases Semantic Intelligence-Powered Title Management, Schedule Op...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/04/2026
Victoria Mon t Brings the Multi-Hyphenate Mindset to Career Jam 2026 The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and producer shared how versatility and self-inves...
01/04/2026
UKTV today announces that Jonathan Newman has formally stepped into the role of ...
01/04/2026
A New Season of Expression: Save 30% On Ivory 3There are moments in music when everything changes-when new ideas break through and redefine what's possible....
01/04/2026
Wuppertal April 1, 2026
Binghamton University Strengthens Student Run Producti...
01/04/2026
Back to All News
A Demon Falls for a Human in Long Vacation: Netflix Greenlight...
01/04/2026
Back to All News
All WWE Is Now Live Only on Netflix in Italy
Entertainment
01 April 2026
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
ALL WWE IS NOW LIVE
ON NET...
01/04/2026
Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery SAN JOSE, Calif. - April 1, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
01/04/2026
Rugby fans won't miss a moment of the action this spring, with full Women...