Alok Sharma MP, the President for COP26 and Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, will deliver a keynote address at tomorrow’s (Wednesday 11 May 2022) Society of Editors Future of News conference.
Sharma, appointed full-time President for COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in January 2021, will address delegates at the high-profile media gathering on the critical role the media plays in addressing climate change and driving accountability.
Dawn Alford, Executive Director of the Society of Editors said: “Following on from the significant commitments made during last year’s COP26 climate change conference, we welcome the opportunity to hear more from its President Alok Sharma MP on the vital role that the media plays in reporting on this area as well as the plans afoot for ensuring that pledges made at COP 26 translate into meaningful action.”
Previously Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy between February 2020 and January 2021, Sharma has also served as Secretary of State for International Development from July 2019 to February 2020, and Minister of State for Employment at the Department of Work and Pensions from January 2018 until July 2019. He also served as Minister of State for Housing and Planning, for the Department for Communities and Local Government from June 2017 to January 2018.
The Society’s Future of News conference, its first in-person event since 2019, will also see discussions focus on coverage of the war in Ukraine, how traditional news media can engage new audiences through social platforms and the future for making news and content pay.
Considered a major highlight of the industry calendar, speakers at the conference include Alison Phillips, Editor at the Daily Mirror, BBC Digital Director Naja Nielsen, Jonathan Levy, Director of Newsgathering and Operations at Sky News, Simon Robinson, Reuters Global Managing Editor, BBC News presenter Ros Atkins, Kamal Ahmed, Editor-in-Chief of The News Movement, Marianna Spring, Specialist Disinformation and Social Media Reporter at the BBC, Tessa Chapman, Chief Correspondent at 5 News and Jasper Fulcher, the Telegraph’s Head of Daily Visual Production. The event will also see an Outstanding Contribution to Journalism Award presented to The Sunday Times Chief Foreign Correspondent Christina Lamb OBE.
The Society’s campaigning work on behalf of press freedom is made possible thanks to the support of Camelot, Cision and Google.
A list of speakers and a programme for the conference can be found here.
