In the wake of the pandemic, the mounting climate crisis and now Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we are reminded daily that a free press is of paramount importance in keeping the public informed and holding governments accountable.

A journalist for over 35 years, Maria Ressa is the co-founder, CEO and executive editor of Rappler, an online news organization in the Philippines. Her work as a fearless defender of independent journalism and freedom of expression - particularly in exposing the human rights abuses of the authoritarian former President Rodrigo Duterte - culminated in 2021 when she became the first Filipino awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In her acceptance speech, Ressa cautioned, "Without facts, you can't have truth. Without truth, you can't have trust. Without trust, we have no shared reality, no democracy, and it becomes impossible to deal with our world's existential problems: climate, coronavirus, the battle for truth."

Nahlah Ayed, host of the CBC Radio One program Ideas, will emcee the event. The work of Ayed, a former parliamentary reporter and a veteran foreign correspondent, has garnered numerous awards including from the UK Foreign Press Association and the Canadian Association of Journalists. In 2012, her memoir, A Thousand Farewells, was shortlisted for a Governor General's Literary Award. Ideas broadcasts weeknights at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC Radio One and the CBC Listen App.