Governance and funding

Our Trustees

Paddy Coulter, Chairman

UK [appointed December 2013]

Paddy Coulter, Chairman

Paddy Coulter is a specialist in media and development with over 30 years professional experience of international communications. Hailing originally from Northern Ireland, he is currently based in Oxford as a Director of Oxford Global Media, a UK consultancy working on a range of communications strategy assignments for international organisations.

His previous experience includes responsibility for the Reuters international journalism programme of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University where he was Director of Studies between 2001 and 2007. From 1990-2001 Paddy was Director (and from 1987-1990 Deputy Director) of the International Broadcasting Trust, producing over a hundred television programmes on global development and human rights for BBC TV, Channel 4 Television and other leading international broadcasters. He was previously and Head of Communications at Oxfam (1982/1987).

Paddy is a Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford. He has maintained a strong interest in media and civil society, having had lengthy involvements as a Trustee with UNICEF UK, Comic Relief and the Media Trust as well as Oxfam. He won the Gold Award from the United Nations Correspondents Association in New York for the IBT television documentary series ‘Under the Blue Flag’ and in 2000 Paddy was awarded OBE by Her Majesty’s Government in London for “services to development awareness”. He is also a Trustee of the Geddes Trust which seeks to promote Oxford student journalism and is a Visiting Fellow of the Bournemouth Media School, University of Bournemouth.

In addition to being Chair of the International Board of ARTICLE 19 (since 2014), Paddy sits on the Finance and General Purposes Committee, the Governance Committee and is also a director of the regional affiliate ARTICLE 19 East Africa.

Galina Arapova

Russia [appointed March 2009]

Galina Arapova

Galina Arapova is a leading expert in media law who works in the field of freedom of expression and freedom of information focussed on the promotion of freedom of expression standards in Russia.

Since 1996 she has been a director and senior media lawyer at the Mass Media Defence Centre, working in the field of media rights protection. She is also a a practising media lawyer with a very active practice defending media and journalists in domestic courts, and before the European court on Human Rights. Galina is also an experienced trainer conducting training for journalists, lawyers, and judges in Russia, CIS countries and Eastern Europe. She is also a Board member of a European Center for Press and Media Freedom in Leipzig, Germany.

Her contribution to human rights and media freedom was acknowledged by the Russian Union of Journalists when she became the only lawyer awarded a special freedom of expression protection award. Galina is also the winner of the Anna Politkovskaya prize “Camerton” (Tonometer), and in 2016 was the winner of the Human Rights Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights, awarded by International Bar Association.

Galina has a law degree and post-graduate degree in world economy and international relations from the Russian Academy of Sciences and is also a graduate of the Institute of European Law at the University of Birmingham, UK (Human Rights Law and practice programme developed in cooperation with the Council of Europe).

She is currently Chair of the Governance Committee and Vice Chair of the International Board.

Mark Salway

Treasurer, UK [appointed June 2018]

Mark Salway

Mark is Director of Sustainable Finance at Cass Business School, City, University of London. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and holds their postgraduate diploma in charity accounting. He has been responsible for the business school’s work on developing financial sustainability in charities, and has led the social investment and social finance work for the past four years. He also leads the ICAEW accredited MSc module on Advanced, Audit, Accounting and Taxation.

Mark has extensive experience as management consultant for industry, government and with many non-profit organisations – from the UN and CARE International, to Age UK and the Children’s Society – as well as many commercial organisations such as Virgin Airlines, and WS Atkins. He has also advised government at the Department of Work and Pension and Department of Education and Skills.

He was Director for Finance and Operational Support for CARE International UK from 2007-2014, (and Joint Acting CEO in 2014). During the earlier part of his career Mark worked for KMPG from 1996-2004 in consulting and audit, where he was also part of the Charity Management Team.

He is passionate about giving people tools to help themselves and developing a voice for civil society, and helped to establish www.lendwithcare.org.uk, the peer to peer lending platform.

Mark sits on the Finance and General Purposes Committee for the International Board.

Arturo Franco

Mexico [appointed July 2016]

Arturo Franco

Arturo Franco is an economist, writer and entrepreneur. His career combines high-level positions in Fortune 500 corporations and global organizations, with public policy and international development experience.

In 2008, Arturo became a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum with a focus on Latin America. In 2011 he was a Resident Fellow of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, focusing on economic growth and industrial policy.

Holder of an MPA in International Development from Harvard, a Masters in Constitutional Law and Governance from Mexico’s Autonomous University, and an Executive MBA in Global Leadership, Arturo is a visiting professor at Tec de Monterrey, his alma mater.

On a pro-bono basis, Arturo has founded and advised several social enterprises and NGOs, including Causas.org, the largest interactive platform for civil society in Mexico. He has served on the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Board of Directors, the Advisory Board of Teach for Mexico, and as a Trustee for the UK’s Fatherhood Institute.

Arturo is Chair of the Major Gifts Committee of the International Board.

Bob Latham

USA [ appointed June 2018]

Bob Latham

Robert P. “Bob” Latham has had a distinguished career spanning three decades, as a trial lawyer with recognized expertise in the areas of media law and intellectual property litigation. He is currently a Partner and Chair of Jackson Walker L.L.P.’s media law practice group, and his trial practice also involves complex commercial disputes, international, and class actions. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Virginia Law School.

In addition to his practice at Jackson Walker, Bob serves on the International Board of ARTICLE 19 and the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law. He is also a former president of the Defense Counsel Section of the Media Law Resource Center.

Bob has served on the Executive Committee of World Rugby for seven years, and chairs the World Rugby Regulations Committee. He is a former Chairman of the Board of USA Rugby as well as a former President of Rugby Americas North. Bob is also a published author and columnist, and a much sought-after speaker nationally and internationally. He has spoken on matters related to the rights of free speech, technology and intellectual property litigation, advocacy and litigation strategy, dispute resolution and sports – from Antwerp to Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro to Glasgow, and Melbourne to Yangzhou.

Bob also sits on the Major Gifts Committee of the International Board.

Catalina Botero Marino

Colombia [appointed June 2018]

Catalina Botero Marino

Catalina is a Colombian journalist and lawyer and a former Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) (2008-2014). In June 2018 she joined the ARTICLE 19 international board and is currently a professor of Constitutional Law at the Externado de Colombia University and the Academy of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law of American University. In June 2018 she joined the ARTICLE 19 international board

Catalina is a founding partner of the Center for Law, Justice and Society Studies (DeJusticia), member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP) and the academic committee International Center for the Study of Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELA) from the University of Palermo (Argentina). She has participated in conferences and specialized seminars on Constitutional Law and International Rights Law in more than 25 countries and is the author of specialized publications on these topics, translated into different languages.

Along with a group of Colombian lawyers, Catalina co-founded – along with the Global Freedom of Expression project at Colombia University, UNESCO, Dejusticia, and The Foundation for Press Freedom – the Freedom of Expression Case Law online database, allowing access to information of the highest courts of 16 Latin American countries

Frank Ledwidge

UK [appointed June 2016]

Frank Ledwidge

Frank Ledwidge joined the ARTICLE 19 board in November 2016. He is a former Barrister and military intelligence officer for the British Government specialising in post-conflict development.

Frank spent fifteen years working on torture, human trafficking and war crimes. In Kosovo, Albania, the Former Soviet Union, Afghanistan and Ethiopia Frank worked as an advisor to governments on international human rights protection, criminal law reform, and institution building. He has also worked in Libya on post-conflict stabilisation, focusing on justice and security. He also served for 15 years as a military officer in the reserves, including several front-line tours on operations.

Frank received a Doctorate in War Studies in 2015 and is currently Senior Fellow in Law and Strategy at the University of Portsmouth. He the author of ‘Losing Small Wars’ (Yale University Press 2011) and has written articles for many newspapers and journals and appear regularly as an analyst on BBC TV Newsnight, Channel 4 News, Sky News,Al Jazeera and regularly on BBC Radio (see below for 2 examples). His two most recent books are ‘Investment in Blood’ published in June 2013 and was ‘Rebel Law’ (Hurst 2017).

Frank sits on the IT Task Force appointed by the International Board.

Gayathry Venkiteswaran

Malaysia [appointed June 2016]

Gayathry Venkiteswaran

Gayathry Venkiteswaran is a journalist and activist and sits on the Governance committee of the International Board of ARTICLE 19. She is a lecturer at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, where she is also a PhD candidate with the focus of her research on media reforms in Southeast Asia. Prior to this, she was the executive director of the Bangkok-based Southeast Asian Press Alliance, working on press freedom and access to information in the region. Before joining SEAPA, she headed a Malaysian press freedom organisation, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), worked as a journalist and taught media history and journalism in a number of private colleges and universities. She was curator of the freedom of expression content on Asia and the Pacific for the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) based in Toronto, and is co-editing a book on the media in transition in Burma with two other editors, scheduled for publication in 2019.

Gayathry has authored a research paper for the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) on Freedom of assembly and association online in India, Malaysia and Pakistan: Trends, Challenges and Recommendations (2016), and has presented extensively in international fora on issues related to media freedom and freedom of expression in Southeast Asia. She has an MA (International Relations) from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Mass Communication from University Sains Malaysia.

Gayathry sits on the Governance Committee of the International Board

Jacob Jiel Akol

Sudan and South Sudan [appointed June 2016]

Jacob Jiel Akol

Jacob J Akol is a veteran Sudanese journalist who worked in Juba and Khartoum from the mid-1970s to early 80s. During his time in Sudan in the mid-1970s he worked for Radio Juba in the South and for Sudan Television in Khartoum, while at the same time stringing for the BBC and the Guardian (London/Manchester). Two years before the beginning of the second war between North and South Sudan, Akol took up a job offer with World Vision International (WVI) as Communication Director for Africa Region, based in Nairobi, Kenya, where he played an instrumental role in the media coverage of the Ethiopian Famine of 1984/85, Somali war and famine of 1992, the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the West African wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, the Angola and Mozambique civil wars. Jacob’s experiences, reports and reflections are summarised in his second book: “Burden Of Nationality, Memoirs of an African Aidworker/Journalist 1970s-1990s.

Akol retired from aid-journalism in 2001 and became the Gurtong Website Moderator and Editor in 2002, going on to become Director/Editor of Gurtong Trust – Peace & Media Project at the beginning 2006. He has since expanded the website into print, production of radio and Mobile TV programmes. Jacob also led the establishment of the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) in 2003, about two years before the signing of the agreement which has led to an independent South Sudan in July 2011. AMDISS under Akol’s leadership and with partners has been leading the drafting and lobbying for South Sudan’s Media Laws, which have recently been passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by the president in 2014 (backdated to 2013).

Jacob sits on the Governance Committee for the International Board

Lesley Swarbrick

Lesley Swarbrick was appointed HR director of TI Media, formerly Time Inc. UK, in August 2014. In her nearly four years with the company, she was instrumental in the transformation of the business, leading a range of leadership and communication initiatives – including the work around the company’s strategic narrative. Prior to joining Time Inc. UK, Lesley had a long and distinguished career in HR at the BBC spanning two decades. In addition, she ran a successful HR consultancy business, where her clients included the Financial Conduct Authority, Amnesty International and Fox International.

As HR Director BBC Vision, Lesley reported to the Executive Director and was responsible for supporting the Executive Directors of BBC Vision and BBC MC&A in developing, integrating and implementing the People Strategy to achieve the broader business objectives of the organisation.

Lesley is a former journalist with a strong interest in human rights and freedom of expression issues.

Our governance structure

ARTICLE 19 is established through a number of international and regional offices and affiliates.

The organs of ARTICLE 19 International are:

The General Assembly;
The International Board;
The Financial and General Purpose Committee
The Governance Sub-Committee
The International Office.

About the General Assembly

Among the primary responsibilities of the General Assembly are the setting of ARTICLE 19 International’s vision, mission and core values and recommending Trustees for appointment to the International Board and any other members to other governance bodies. The GA reviews the performance of the International Board, reviews the annual accounts of ARTICLE 19; and approves the International Board’s report of the activities of ARTICLE 19 and ARTICLE 19 International.

About the International Board

The International Board has a dual function, both as a board of trustees of ARTICLE 19 and as the governing body of ARTICLE 19 International. The primary functions of the International Board are to focus on strategy and approve ARTICLE 19 International’s Integrated Strategic Plan including its financial strategy. It also monitors compliance of all Affiliate Members, Regional Offices and the International Office with ARTICLE 19 International organizational principles.

The Board is also responsible for evaluating ARTICLE 19’s International’s performance against its agreed strategies and plans; holding Affiliate Members, Regional Offices and the International Office and other bodies accountable; and for appointing the Executive Director who is responsible under its direction for the conduct of the affairs of ARTICLE 19 and ARTICLE 19 International.

About the Financial and General Purposes Committee

The FGPC, established by the International Board, is responsible for overseeing ARTICLE 19 Internationals financial, Human Resources and Administrative operations. The FGPC is made up of four members, including the Chair and the treasurer of the International Board.

About the International Governance Committee

Known as the Governance Sub-Committee (GSC), this committee reports and advises the International Board on questions relating to ARTICLE 19’s international governance policies, procedures and processes. Among its many responsibilities the GSC monitors compliance by the General Assembly, International Board, International Office, Affiliate Member Boards and Offices, and other bodies to ARTICLE 19’s international organizational principles as outlined in all relevant governance documents.

The GSC also identifies and recommends new International Board Members to the General Assembly for onward recommendation for appointment by the International Board.

About the International Office

ARTICLE 19 operates an International Office from London. Its role is to implement the strategies and operations of ARTICLE 19, subject to the directions of the International Board and the General Assembly.

For more information about our governance structure you can review our “Good Governance Manual” here.

Our funders

ARTICLE 19 is able to defend freedom of expression and freedom of information through the support of a wide range of donors who are acknowledged throughout the website and the projects they support.

We are particularly grateful to a number of long-term donors whose consistent support enables us to deliver innovative and sustainable impact. These include:

Angelica Foundation
Embassy of Canada in Senegal
Danish International Development Agency (Danida)
DW Akademie
European Commission
Ford Foundation
Freedom House
Fritt Ord
Embassy of Germany in Bangladesh
Guardian Foundation
Hivos
Embassy of Ireland in Mexico
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
National Endowment for Democracy
Natural Resources Governance Institute
Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Norwegian Press Association
Open Society Foundations
Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA)
UK Department for International Development (DFID)
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
United States Department of State (USDoS)
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

We are always grateful to hear from new supporters. If you would like to support us or learn more about our work please contact our fundraising team on +44 20 7324 2500 or by email [email protected]

Our financial accounts

For more information download our annual financial reports and statements:

Annual accounts 2016/17

Annual accounts 2015/16

Annual accounts 2014/15

Annual accounts 2013/14