BARCELONA–The ACOS Alliance has reshaped its board of directors to expand the organization’s geographic reach and to draw in an excellent cross-selection of media organizations, non-profit organizations and experienced freelancers.
The seven newly appointed directors are: Mathias Dreissig, editor at Deutsche Welle News in Germany; Sally Fitton, High Risk Advisor at the BBC in the United Kingdom; Elisa Muñoz, Executive Director at the International Women’s Media Foundation, based in Washington, D.C.; Finbarr O’Reilly, award-winning freelance photographer and writer based in London; Andréa Schmidt, award-winning freelance journalist and independent filmmaker based in Toronto; Art Sotloff, founder of the 2LIVES Steven Sotloff Memorial Foundation based in Miami; and award-winning photojournalist Daniella Zalcman, based in New York and London.
The new board members bring a wealth of experience in safety issues that directly affect freelancers and local journalists and share a passion and commitment towards the ACOS Alliance mission. “Our board has been a terrific resource for us,” Elisabet Cantenys, ACOS Alliance Executive Director, said. “We are thrilled to welcome these new voices. These appointments will help us to expand our reach in many ways.”
The ACOS board of directors is carefully balanced among representatives from news organizations, press freedom NGOs and individual freelancers, the three key sectors the coalitions brings together to champion safe and responsible journalistic practices and embed a culture of safety across newsrooms and among freelance and local journalists worldwide. ACOS has established principles for the engagement between assigning editors and freelancers in the field. It offers training to both editors and freelancers.
“We have busy times ahead of us, with many practical safety initiatives, from editors’ safety workshops to safety training for freelancers,” said Cantenys. “We are fortunate to add more energy and talent to our board.”
For more information, please contact:
Elisabet Cantenys, ACOS Alliance Executive Director, elisabet@acosalliance.org