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Thomson Reuters Foundation the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information provider. The Foundation is a registered charity in the United States and United Kingdom and is headquartered in Canary Wharf, London.

The Foundation is primarily funded by Thomson Reuters and provides legal, humanitarian and journalistic services through three core programs: AlertNet, TrustLaw and TrustMedia. The primary aims of the Foundation are globally to strengthen journalism standards, provide free legal assistance to NGOs and social entrepreneurs and produce trusted news and information on women’s rights, anti-corruption and humanitarian crises.

The current CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation is Monique Villa, a French national and former Managing Director of Reuters Media and Chairman of Action Images. She was ranked 43rd of the world’s 100 most influential people in business ethics in 2011 by Ethisphere.

History
Beginnings

The Reuters Foundation was created in September 1982 to support journalists from developing countries through education and training. This charitable trust funded by the Reuters Group provided cash grants to educational and humanitarian programs around the world.

The Foundation also awarded university fellowships to journalists from developing countries to attend universities in the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

In September 1997, the Reuter Foundation launched AlertNet, a website providing free humanitarian news and information. AlertNet was set up in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwanda genocide as a response to criticism of the slow media response and poorly coordinated activities of the relief agencies on the ground. AlertNet aimed to facilitate coordination among relief workers.

In 2004, the Foundation created, Iraq’s first independent national news agency, Aswat al-Iraq (Voices of Iraq), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECI). The service continues to provide impartial and reliable information in Iraq today.

Building on its engagement with journalism training, the Reuters Foundation supported in 2006 the creation of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, a university research centre for international comparative journalism. The Institute is based in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford.

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Following the acquisition of Reuters by the Canadian group Thomson Corporation on the 17th of April of 2008, the Foundation was transformed to embrace the wider scope of the company. Under the leadership of the new CEO, Monique Villa, the Foundation scaled down its grant making activities, revamped existing programs and launched new projects – all aimed at leveraging the skills and expertise of the company.

In January 2010, with the Haitian earthquake, the Foundation launched an Emergency Information Service (EIS) aimed at providing practical, life-saving information to survivors in local languages.

A few months later, it launched TrustLaw, a global centre for free legal assistance and a hub of news and information on anti-corruption and women’s rights.

Programs
All Thomson Reuters Foundation’s programs can be found on the Foundation’s main portal Trust.org.

AlertNet

AlertNet is a free global humanitarian news service covering natural disasters, conflicts, refugees, hunger, diseases and the human impacts of climate change. Content comes from AlertNet reporters around the globe, Reuters News bureaux and 60 specialist news content partners. AlertNet counts 500 international relief agencies as members in 95 countries. In the event of major natural disasters, AlertNet also provides practical information in local languages to affected populations via its free Emergency Information Service (EIS).

TrustLaw

TrustLaw is a global hub of news and information on anti-corruption, pro bono legal assistance, good governance and women’s rights. TrustLaw provides news and analysis by the Foundation’s editorial team as well as from Reuters journalists, along with expert commentary, country profiles and relevant resources such as best practice and handbooks. TrustLaw is also dedicated to improving access to free legal assistance. At the heart of the project is an electronic platform called TrustLaw Connect, a free market place for pro bono legal assistance designed to help lawyers access high impact projects around the world and make it easier for social entrepreneurs and NGOs to get free legal assistance. TrustLaw's projects range from simple registration as a charity to cross-borders programmes addressing a vast range of issues from corruption to abuse against women. TrustLaw Connect counts 730 members, including 240 law firms and general counsels willing to work pro bono.

TrustMedia

TrustMedia is the Foundation’s journalism and media training program. It aims to improve standards of journalism around the world. TrustMedia also implements media development projects including Aswat Al Iraq, Iraq’s first independent news agency and Aswat Masriya, an independent elections website created in Egypt in 2011. The Thomson Reuters Foundation also supports the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University, a research centre for international comparative journalism.

Awards

 * In 2012, AlertNet Climate was selected as an Official Honouree of the 16th Annual Webby Awards in the Green category.


 * In 2011, AlertNet was awarded the “Voices of Courage” Award by the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC).


 * In 2011, AlertNet was awarded an EPpy Award for the "Best News Website" category.


 * In 2011, the Foundation received an EPpy Award for “Best Overall Website Design” for its online platform, Trust.org.


 * AlertNet received a gold trophy for “Best News Site” at the Lovie Awards.


 * In March 2011, the Foundation won the "Best Use of New Media" award for its Emergency Information Service (EIS) at the Third Annual Social Innovation Awards hosted by Justmeans.


 * In 2011, AlertNet received the Popular Communication award for technological innovation and a NetMedia European Online Journalism Award for its coverage of natural disasters.


 * TrustMedia winner of a "Commended Company" designation by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for its innovative journalist training on health reporting.


 * In 2010, the Foundation was awarded the Best Annual Report Award at the Digital Communications Awards.


 * In 2010, “Surviving the Tsunami: Stories of Hope”, a Thomson Reuters Foundation multimedia documentary created for the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, was nominated for an Emmy award and won a prize at the Best of Photojournalism Awards.   The documentary was also a finalist in the 2010 Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma and named Best Web Special Feature by Editor & Publisher.


 * AlertNet was named a Millennium Product by the British government, an award for outstanding application of innovative technology.