Vance Center Participates in Global Conferences for Investigative Journalism in Malaysia, Jordan
At conferences in Kuala Lumpur and Amman, Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou spoke on panels and held legal clinics for current and prospective Public Interest Reporting clients.
L-R: Moderator Hanene Zbiss, Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou, and panelists Clothilde Redfern, Marta Cabrera Martín, and Omar Weslati during the panel “Navigating the Legal Complexity: Mechanisms to Support Journalism,” at the ARIJ Forum in Amman, Jordan, December 7, 2025. Photo credit: ARIJ
In November and December, Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou traveled to Malaysia and Jordan for major investigative journalism conferences, where he met Vance Center clients, joined panel discussions on legal threats and mechanisms to defend journalists, and participated in safety clinics to address urgent legal questions.
On November 21 and 22, Papachristou joined drop-in legal clinics at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference, held on November 20-24 in Kuala Lumpur. At the clinics, he met journalists from Vietnam, Japan, Algeria, Morocco, Tanzania, and Afghanistan, among others, and discussed legal issues that they confront.
The conference, organized every two years by the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) and a regional member organization, is the world’s largest international gathering of investigative journalists. The 2025 edition, co-hosted by GIJN and independent Malaysian news outlet Malaysiakini, the first time that the GIJC was held in Asia, drew more than 1,500 attendees from more than 135 countries and territories.
In addition to the safety clinics, the conference offered a chance to connect with international Vance Center clients including the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Bellingcat, and Forbidden Stories. It was also an opportunity to expand the Public Interest Reporting Program’s contacts with media outlets, journalists, and donor organizations working in Asia.
ARIJ Forum
In early December, Papachristou traveled to Amman, Jordan, for the 18th annual Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) Forum.
Under the theme “Rise to the Challenge,” the forum emphasized best practices, collaborative techniques, adaptive solutions to keep reporting in challenging environments, and the importance of supporting and expanding independent media in the Arab world and beyond.
On December 7, Papachristou spoke on a panel, “Navigating the Legal Complexity: Mechanisms to Support Journalism,” exploring legal tactics that powerful people and companies use to intimidate and silence journalists and ways to defend against these threats.
He joined panelists Clothilde Redfern, Executive Director of Reporters Shield; Marta Cabrera Martín, Human Rights Lawyer at Media Defence; and Omar Weslati, Chair of the Complaints Committee at the Tunisian Press Council for a discussion moderated by investigative journalist and trainer Hanene Zbiss.
The speakers highlighted gaps in legal systems that bad-faith actors have used to target journalists, as well as legal mechanisms and other resources available to defend media professionals from threats, lawsuits, and other attacks.
Earlier in the weekend, he joined a discussion, “Unpacking Impact: The MENA Context,” where he presented on current regulatory threats to journalism in the U.S. Papachristou also met one-on-one with journalists and media managers from countries including Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, and Syria to discuss legal issues and possible opportunities for the Vance Center to assist them.
L-R: Moderator Hanene Zbiss, Vance Center Executive Director Alex Papachristou, and panelists Clothilde Redfern, Marta Cabrera Martín, and Omar Weslati during the panel “Navigating the Legal Complexity: Mechanisms to Support Journalism,” at the ARIJ Forum in Amman, Jordan, December 7, 2025. Photo credit: ARIJ