Acclaimed Toronto columnist and writer Shawn Micallef has supported JHR for many years. A Toronto Star columnist and co-founder of Spacing magazine, his latest book is Frontier City: Toronto on the Verge of Greatness.
We asked Shawn how he first got involved with JHR, and why he’s inspired to contribute.
I first heard of JHR through the Massey College Canadian Journalism Fellowship and the college’s connections to JHR’s work globally.
Why am I a supporter? JHR does important behind-the-scenes work, making sure that critical stories can be told and get out to a wider audience. Where there are human rights abuses, at home or abroad, the risks to journalists and storytellers rise. Without their work, we proceed with fewer facts and perspectives, an incredibly dangerous condition to be in– as we’re seeing today.
A free and open global press is increasingly under threat; supporting JHR is one way to push back. JHR also, sometimes informally, connects Canadian journalists with international ones, creating a network that also helps facilitate the work in getting important stories out.
