Thuraya sponsors Global Voices with the Thuraya IP+ at News Xchange 2013

Eurovision News Xchange Conference - Thuraya, a leading mobile satellite services operator, today announced its sponsorship of Global Voices in recognition of the online community's ground-breaking work with citizen media and user-generated content. The sponsorship was announced on 15 November at the annual Eurovision News Xchange conference in Marrakech, Morocco. Thuraya will be sponsoring Global Voices' online team with a Thuraya IP+ terminal, which provides citizen journalists with quick and reliable access to broadband data services over Thuraya's extensive satellite network.

Thuraya's Head of Media and Broadcast, John Huddle, said: "For the second year running, we are proud to support the work of freelance journalists at News Xchange. Last year, we sponsored Sebastian Meyer, co-founder of a photojournalism agency in Iraq called Metrography, with the IP+, which enabled him to file stories and send photos to global news organisations. Thuraya recognises that the pressure to break news is highly intense. As this pressure grows, broadcast and multimedia journalists have become more and more mobile - equipped to report live from remote locations, and increasingly able to file stories as they break to meet tight deadlines."

Global Voices' Managing Editor, Solana Larsen, said: "Global Voices nurtures and supports new bloggers and citizen journalists in parts of the world where news is still waiting to happen. Having access to the Internet through the Thuraya IP+ will be incredibly empowering to communities that normally have no means to communicate with the world."

Thuraya will be supporting Global Voices with the Thuraya IP+ and one year of free connectivity for work in under-represented communities with little or no Internet. The enhanced capabilities of the Thuraya IP+ facilitate a wide range of applications including Web browsing, e-mail, social media communications, video, data transfer and VOIP applications.

Amy Selwyn, Managing Director of News Xchange, says: "We are really delighted to serve as the connector. With Thuraya being a premium sponsor of News Xchange, it makes it possible for us to present this equipment to Global Voices in support of global journalism."