Welcome to the online home of Speak!
Speak! is a human rights news blog run by a team of student journalists working under Journalists for Human Rights (jhr) @ McGill. Articles are typically published on a weekly basis, and a journal showcasing key pieces, academic papers, and content-related artwork is printed at the end of the year.
If you would like to get involved with jhr @ McGill or the Speak! team, please email us at jhrmcgill@gmail.com. The Speak! team is always looking for new writers, editors, artists, photographers and layout/design crew. No experience is necessary!
jhr @ McGill also runs programs in human rights radio, TV and advocacy. If you would like to assist with radio broadcast or TV production, or help organize fundraising and advocacy events, please send us an e-mail at the above address. Again, no experience is necessary! To learn more about jhr @ McGill and its teams, please visit jhrmcgill.wordpress.com, visit our Facebook page, or browse the pages on this site.
To learn more about jhr’s international work, please visit: http://www.jhr.ca For more information about jhr @ McGill and our upcoming activities, please visit our Facebook page.
About Journalists for Human Rights
Journalists for Human Rights (jhr) is a national nongovernmental organization. Its goal is to make everyone in the world fully aware of their rights. Creating rights awareness is the first and most necessary step to ending rights abuses. By mobilizing the media to spread human rights awareness, jhr informs people about human rights, empowering marginalized communities to stand up, speak out and protect themselves. By concentrating our programs in post-conflict African countries like the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Sierra Leone, jhr is improving human rights where they are most at risk.
jhr provides unbiased media and capacity building training to African journalists. Typically, a jhr trainer will work alongside an African journalist for 6-8 months, mentoring him or her and helping with field production. jhr stays in each country for only 5 years, in order to promote sustainability without dependency. jhr partners with local media organizations to reach millions of people at risk of abuse with information on how to protect their rights, and the rights of others.
Journalists for Human Rights (jhr) @ McGill is a Students’ Society of McGill University club since 2003 and the McGill chapter of the national NGO. It is comprised of a group of students actively engaged in informing their community about local, national, and international human rights issues through media campaigns and other on campus projects. There is a TV portfolio, a radio portfolio, an advocacy and events portfolio, and a newspaper portfolio which is where Speak! resides.
jhr @ McGill also provides students with national and international human rights journalism opportunities. Through the jhr Chapters Program, we have offered McGill students opportunities for publication in national magazines and academic journals and the chance to participate in media internships in Ghana. jhr’s Train the Trainer Conference on Media and Human Rights has been hosted four times at McGill.
jhr @ McGill executives, Fall 2013-Winter2014
PRESIDENT
Jenna Topan
VP INTERNAL
Jesse Kim
VP NEWSPAPER
Alex Badduke and Jessica Newfield
VP TELEVISION
David Goulet
VP RADIO
Catherine Gao
VP ADVOCACY
Brenda Chang
VP EVENTS
Matthew Trisic
VP COMMUNICATIONS
Amy Kim
Speak! 