OTHER WORK

 

Manisha delivering the inaugural address at the Future of Journalism launch, London, 2018.

Here are a few things Manisha cares about and has volunteered her time on:

  • FILM/DOCUMENTARIES

Since 2021, Manisha has served as a judge for the News & Documentary Emmy® Awards. In 2023 and 2024, she served as a jury member for the investigative documentary competition and grant for the Digital Investigative Journalism Awards, Italy.

  • INNOVATION AND SECURITY FOR JOURNALISTS

Manisha is a vocal proponent of press freedom and representation in the media. She has advised journalists operating in hostile evironments on information security at international events like the Mozilla Festival.

In 2018, she served as Director of the Future of Journalism network which brought together award-winning journalists and cutting-edge developers working on automation and security tools for reporters, including Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists, BellingCat, Forbidden Stories, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and BBC R&D.

Manisha has been an advocate for press freedom in India, especially for women. She has chaired international events on the subject, including with Stephen Dunbar Johnson (President International of the New York Times Company) at Amnesty International.

  • SOURCE PROTECTION

In 2021, Afghanistan fell to Taliban control. Manisha was off work finishing her PhD when was received requests from multiple sensitive sources for help with evacuation. As a result of her efforts to evacuate them, she was appointed volunteer strategic coordinator for an international coalition to evacuate high-risk Afghan civilians from on the last flight out of Kabul before the Taliban takeover and US troop withdrawal. It involved lengthy negotiations with multiple foreign governments/politicians, the Taliban, and navigating ground challenges, including Islamic State-K bomb threats to get 200+ people out. Their unlikely success made international headlines [The Times (UK), NPR (USA) and Der Spiegel (Germany)].

  • REPRESENTATION IN THE MEDIA

She was a founding member of the Race Beat, a national network of journalists of colour in the UK created in 2018. In 2015, Manisha was appointed director of Hysteria, one of the first national feminist conventions in India organised , in association with the Goethe-Institut.