STATE VISIT: Governor General Michaelle Jean and President Kagame discuss the
media in Rwanda with Toronto NGO Founder
TORONTO, April 23 /CNW/ - From Wednesday April 14th, 2010 to Saturday April 24th, 2010 Ben Peterson, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of jhr (Journalists for Human Rights), has been accompanying Canada's Governor General, Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean and a team of Canadian delegates as they undertake State visits to The Republic of Senegal, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Rwanda and Cape Verde.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for jhr to showcase the importance of the media in the development of Sub-Saharan Africa." Says Mr Peterson.
Mr Peterson, Her Excellency and team have been greeted by the heads of state of each visited country. Tours of each state have included visits to local memorial sites, hospitals, military sites, Canadian funded day care centers, slave trade sites, local civil society and NGO's and various other Canadian funded projects.
On Wednesday April 21st in a closed meeting with President Kagame and her Excellency Mr Peterson was able to discuss President Kagame's relationship with the media.
On Thursday April 22nd following an opening speech by her Excellency, Mr Peterson participated in a panel discussion at the National University of Rwanda in Butare. The panel discussion, originally set to be centered on the media's role in democracy, became one of press freedom issues in Rwanda, as a result of the Media High Council's recent decision to suspend two of the country's independent newspapers.
Mr Peterson will be returning to Toronto Canada tomorrow Saturday April 24th.
jhr (Journalists for Human Rights), is a Canadian non-profit organization that was created to improve the African Media's ability to report more effectively on human rights issues. Since its founding in 2002, jhr has become Canada's largest media development organization, sparking dialogue on the role of human rights and social justice globally. jhr has worked in over 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and currently has offices in Toronto, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the DR Congo. jhr strives to make every person on earth fully aware of their rights, through mobilizing the media to spread rights awareness.
For more information, including photos, please visit Mr Peterson's personal blog at http://www.jhr.ca/ben/
For a complete itinerary of the state visits please visit http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13586
For a complete listing and description of all delegates please visit http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13584
------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHO: Ben Peterson, Executive Director of jhr (Journalists for Human Rights) WHAT: Discuss the role of the Media in Africa with Governor General Michaëlle Jean WHEN: Wednesday April 14th 2010 - Saturday April 24th, 2010. WHERE: Senegal, DRC, Rwanda, Cape Verde WHY: To act as a Canadian NGO representative and to discuss the role of the media in the emergence of a new Africa -------------------------------------------------------------------------
For further information: Aileen Doyle, jhr's Community Programs Coordinator: e. [email protected], t. (416) 413-0240, cell. (905) 466-5781, w. www.jhr.ca
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