Panel: Being a Journalist
In Kos interviewing migrants, volunteers, locals and United Nations envoys for the BBC. The camps were split. Behind me is the area where men from Pakistan lived waiting for their visas. Syrians who couldn't afford hotels camped near the sea.
The National Alliance of Women (NAWO) has a section dedicated to educating young women about women.
It consists of formidable campaigners fighting for the rights of women everywhere.
I met them in New York and have become friends of NAWO.
I was asked if I could speak to the young women during lockdown. The focus would be on me and my career.
I thought I have friends - friend journalists who live around the world. Journalists with different experiences that could add some depth.
Alice Hutton: Guardian writer who focuses on LGBTQ+ stories. Based in Boston, USA
Christine Yohannes: Poet and BBC Senior Journalist. Based in Nairobi
Jubulile Bathelezi-Kalonji: Publisher and speaker. Based in South Africa
Anna Drury: Documentary Maker. Award Winner. Channel 4 News. Based London.
So I organised everyone and we did our talk via zoom in 2020.
I’d love to do more.
Alice talked so candidly about the highs and lows of being a journalist with sparkle and humour. Christine revealed her talent and love of poetry - her first passion before journalism. A little reminder that our job doesn’t define who we are, even though it’s so hard to do. Jubulile is our pocket rocket, going out into the world and carving her own space in South Africa.
And finally Anna. We laughed about the terrible terrible jobs she had to do, before she got the job of her dreams.
