Rule of Law Lecture 2026
The rule of law under pressure: Lessons from international reporting
Journalists play a vital role in a free and democratic society. They provide objective, verified and factual information and hold those in power accountable to the public. But when democracy and the rule of law are under pressure, these roles can become more challenging. Join Joanna Chiu, author, former China correspondent and managing partner of global research and advisory firm Nüora Global Advisors, and Stephanie Nolen, veteran foreign correspondent and global health reporter at the New York Times, for a discussion about the importance of the rule of law and the essential role of an independent press in a free and democratic society.
Drawing on their experiences reporting from countries affected by conflict, political instability and restrictions on freedom of expression, Chiu and Nolen will explore what it is like to report from jurisdictions where the rule of law is under pressure, the risks journalists and their sources may face and what the impacts are to the public.
Event details
Date: Thursday, November 26, 2026
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 pm (doors open at 5:30 pm, lecture begins at 6 pm)
Location: UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC
Admission is free but space is limited. Register online.
This is a live webcast event and attendees may be captured on video.
Speaker biographies
Joanna Chiu is an award-winning investigative journalist with more than 15 years of experience reporting across China and the Asia-Pacific and has built an international reputation as being an authority on China. She has reported for The Economist, Foreign Policy, Agence France-Presse, and the South China Morning Post. She is a commentator for broadcasters including the BBC, NPR, and CBC, and has written columns for Monocle and The Globe and Mail. She served as British Columbia bureau chief for the Toronto Star and led China technology coverage at Rest of World. Her book, China Unbound, won the 2022 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Chiu is the founder and managing partner of Nüora Global Advisors, a global research and advisory firm that connects organizations, including law firms, with specialist teams of research consultants. Its network includes former investigative journalists with on-the-ground expertise in China and the Asia-Pacific.
Stephanie Nolen is the global health reporter for The New York Times. She has reported from more than 80 countries, on wars, humanitarian disasters, inequality and social change, traveling, often alone, to the frontlines of dozens of conflicts. She was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, an eight-time winner of Canada’s National Newspaper Award, a seven-time winner of the Amnesty International Media Award for her coverage, and an Officer of the Order of Canada. She is the author of 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa, which won the PEN Courage Prize, and of Shakespeare’s Face and Promised the Moon: The Untold Story of the First Women in the Space Race. She served as bureau chief for the Globe and Mail in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Moderator
Jon Festinger, KC has over 40 years’ experience as a lawyer, strategic advisor, and educator in the areas of video games, digital media, creative freedoms, entertainment, communication, and sports. He has been a long-serving Adjunct Professor at the Allard School of Law (since 1992), now Lecturer. Jon’s career also includes significant industry roles, including in-house counsel at WIC Western International Communications, Senior VP of the CTV Television Network & founding GM of VTV Vancouver Television, as well as being Executive VP, Business & General Counsel of the Vancouver Canucks and GM Place. Jon has been member of the Law Society of British Columbia’s Ethics and Lawyer Independence Advisory Committee since January 2014.