RIBA at 66 Portland Place hosted Truth Tellers: Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit, last month, bringing together over 400 leading figures from media, politics, and activism to discuss the intensifying forces putting truth under threat in the world today. The event was hosted by the legendary media editor Tina Brown CBE, in partnership with Reuters CEO Alessandra Galloni, and Vice Chancellor of Durham University Karen O’Brien.
The one-day event saw the venue transformed into a hub of insightful discourse and intellectual exchange with the summit offering an extensive agenda featuring conference sessions and an interactive exhibition, carefully crafted to inspire and equip the next generation of truth-seekers.
The Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit took place across the entire six-floors of the Art Deco building, including the RIBA Cafe, which served as a VIP green room complete with full cafe service. With extensive physical and digital branding, the summit also featured a Reuters photo exhibition in the renowned RIBA Gallery, showcasing the cutting-edge work of investigative journalists.
To amplify the summit experience, an external production company assisted in integrating audiovisual elements. Supported by BBC News technology, the event was livestreamed on Reuters and Tortoise.
Catering was provided throughout the day by the venue’s in-house catering partner, Company of Cooks, with the lunch sessions taking place in both the grand Florence Hall and the 6th Floor Suite for both guests and donors.
66 Portland Place also hosted the Media Leaders Breakfast earlier this year in March to launch the 2024 event, welcoming over 60 journalists to the RIBA Gallery.
Thomas Morgan, Head of Venues at RIBA, said: “It was fantastic to welcome back the team behind this incredible summit. Truth Tellers is a pivotal annual event for the journalism industry, featuring hard-hitting panel sessions, an exhibition, hosted lunches and much more, all of which we were easily able to accommodate across the 6 floors of our building. It was great to see the entire venue in action for an event of this kind!”
Éireann Henderson, Executive Producer of the event, commented: “Our good fortune in finding RIBA as a home for Truth Tellers paid dividends throughout the entire pre-production process and on the day itself. Our international guests much admired the elegance and flow of the space a stone’s throw from Oxford Circus and despite our event numbers and intense schedule, all elements of the day ran smoothly in large part due to the experience, commitment and professionalism of the RIBA team.
“The events team, combined with the AV and F&B teams (front and back of house), always made us feel our event was top priority and even when reasonably tricky production issues arose, RIBA handled them in style.”
The Sir Harry Evans Investigative Journalism Summit was made possible through the support of its partners: Tina Brown Media, Reuters, and Durham University. Acknowledgments were also extended to the summit’s esteemed supporters: Postcode Lottery Group, The Sigrid Rausing Trust, Ford Foundation, and BBC News.
