J-Talks Live features first-hand accounts of Taliban Afghanistan takeover
TORONTO, Feb. 8, 2022 /CNW/ - Only days after the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan last August, the world watched in awe as the Taliban swiftly retook control. Desperate and visceral images of Afghans clinging to evacuation planes, lifting children over Kabul airport's barbed wire fences and other crisis stories dominated news coverage for weeks.
At the Canadian Journalism Foundation's (CJF) next J-Talks Live free webcast, on Tuesday, February 22 at 1 p.m. EST, a panel of storytellers who were there before and during the takeover share their insights into the challenges, safety issues and nuances of covering this humanitarian crisis.
Featured speakers are Global News journalists Stewart Bell and Jeff Semple, who captured moments of loss and sacrifice after the Taliban had swept to power; VICE World News journalist Hind Hassan, who spoke with Taliban leaders in advance of the takeover; and visual storyteller Kiana Hayeri, who captured the transition through powerful photographs. Leading this discussion is Nil Köksal, host of CBC's World Report and former foreign correspondent in Turkey.
"We are thrilled to welcome this extraordinary group of brave journalists and storytellers who captured history as it happened," says CJF Executive Director Natalie Turvey. "Leading our discussion is one of Canada's most recognizable names in global affairs coverage, Nil Köksal. Together, our panel will share and illustrate the moments before and after the takeover and lessons learned."
Adds Köksal: "As the world and world leaders seemed to forget Afghanistan and its people, these journalists are among those who ensured it would be impossible to look away and impossible not to act."
Stewart Bell, a national online investigative journalist at Global News, is the author of three non-fiction books, most recently Bayou of Pigs about a far-right coup plot in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. Bell's reporting has received numerous awards, including the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Hind Hassan is an award-winning international correspondent for VICE News covering conflicts and humanitarian crises around the world, including the post-ISIS legacy in Syria, massive demonstrations in Lebanon and Iraq's anti-corruption protests where her team witnessed and documented human rights abuses.
Kiana Hayeri, an Iranian-Canadian photographer based in Kabul, is a Senior TED Fellow and a regular contributor to The New York Times and National Geographic. In 2020, she received the Tim Hetherington Visionary Award and the James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting. Last year, Hayeri received the Robert Capa Gold Medal for her photographic series "Where Prison is Kind of a Freedom," documenting the lives of Afghan women in Herat Prison.
Jeff Semple is a Senior Correspondent and Video Journalist with Global National News based in Toronto. He has reported from more than 30 countries across five continents, covering terrorist attacks in Europe, the refugee crisis in the Middle East and from the frontlines of the fight against ISIS in Iraq and in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Semple's reports have been recognized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the Radio Television Digital News Association, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Online Publishing Awards and Apple Podcasts.
Nil Köksal is the host of World Report, CBC's flagship national radio news show with more than one million listeners. While working as a foreign correspondent in Istanbul, Köksal covered Syria, the refugee crisis and ISIS. She is a winner and two-time Canadian Screen Award nominee for her reporting.
This free virtual event is part of the CJF's J-Talks Live program that explores pressing journalistic issues.
The CJF thanks the generosity of exclusive J-Talks Live series sponsor TD Bank Group and in-kind supporters CPAC and Cision.
Cision is the exclusive distribution partner of the CJF.
DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, 1 p.m. EST.
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About The Canadian Journalism Foundation
Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism. The foundation runs a prestigious awards and fellowships program featuring an industry gala where news leaders, journalists and corporate Canada gather to celebrate outstanding journalistic achievement and the value of professional journalism. Through monthly J-Talks, a public speakers' series, the CJF facilitates dialogue among journalists, business people, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for media in the digital era. The foundation also fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.
SOURCE Canadian Journalism Foundation
For inquiries: Natalie Turvey, President and Executive Director, The Canadian Journalism Foundation, [email protected]
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