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June update
Welcome to the Thomson Reuters Foundation's monthly newsletter!
Our global efforts to support LGBTQ+ rights
This year's Pride month takes place against a backdrop of growing threats to LGBTQ+ rights and a decline in corporate advocacy.
At least 10 European countries including Italy, Bulgaria and Romania have attempted to introduce legislation barring LGBTQ+ topics in schools. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking 597 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the USA. And in Uganda, two years after passing the Anti-Homosexuality Act, Human Rights Watch have found that the government's policies have intensified violence and hostility against LGBTQ+ people.
These global challenges to LGBTQ+ rights signal a broader ongoing erosion of democratic values. In response, we have accelerated our work by:
- strengthening the legal resilience of LGBTQ+ advocacy organisations
- coaching journalists reporting in contexts often hostile to LGBTQ+ rights
- prioritising telling LGBTQ+ stories in places where most other outlets aren’t.
June highlights from across the Foundation
Strengthening Independent Media
The current era of profound political and economic uncertainty should create the prime conditions for fact-based, analytical journalism to flourish. But the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report reveals the opposite.
Audience engagement is continuing to decline, as traditional news media loses its authority.
Based on a survey of almost 100,000 people in 48 countries, this year's report offers insights on news influencers, platform changes, AI, news avoidance and trust in news.
Enabling Access to the Law
Legal services are scarce and expensive. People - especially vulnerable and marginalised communities - often face challenges in understanding and implementing the law without expertise.
This week, we announced the 2025 TrustLaw Awards winners, recognising the remarkable legal teams and pro bono projects undertaken by the TrustLaw members.
The winners have been selected from the hundreds of connections facilitated by the network - each one demonstrating the value of free legal support in driving real-world impact. Their contributions include spearheading landmark legislation to combat government corruption and influencing new human rights-focused AI regulation.
Promoting Responsible Business
This year, the European Commission introduced a package of proposals to simplify EU sustainability rules and boost competitiveness.
To explain the key changes to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) - and why voluntary reporting is still as important as ever - our Workforce Disclosure Initiative will be hosting a webinar on 29 July 2025, 15:00-15:45 BST.
This month we recommend
READ 📖
- Is gay marriage in the US at risk? | Context
- Indonesia may ban LGBTQ+ content online. What would the impact be? | Context
- Where LGBT rights are under fresh attack, so is democracy | Chatham House
- Israel cracks down on Palestinian journalists during conflict with Iran | Committee to Protect Journalists
WATCH 📱
- Openly LGBTQ+ News | Context | TikTok
- LSE Festival 2025: Visions for the Future Session Recordings | LSE
LISTEN 🎧
- Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Transgender Care for Minors | The New York Times - The Daily
ATTEND 📆
- Sharing Prosperity: Policy Innovations to Tackle Economic Inequality | 8 July 09:00-18:30 ET | Hybrid
- Achieving Africa's Energy Transition | Financial Times | 9 July 14:00-14:50 BST | Webinar
We are the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, the global content and technology company. We leverage our media, legal and data-driven expertise to strengthen independent journalism, enable access to the law and promote responsible business.
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