Maria Ressa

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Maria Ressa has dedicated her career to advancing press freedom in the Philippines. Born in Manila, Philippines, she moved to the United States at the age of nine. She later earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and returned to the Philippines to pursue a master’s degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Ressa began her journalism career at CNN, serving as bureau chief in Manila from 1987 to 1995 and in Jakarta from 1995 to 2005. As CNN’s lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia, she specialised in covering terrorism and regional security. In 2005, she joined ABS-CBN as head of news and current affairs, where she led the largest multi-platform news operation in the Philippines, managing over 1,000 journalists.

In 2012, Ressa co-founded Rappler, a pioneering digital news platform recognised for its innovative public service journalism. Rappler played a critical role in disaster response following Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 by establishing internet access points for affected communities. The organisation has also been at the forefront of investigative reporting on the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, exposing abuses of power, violence, and the erosion of democratic institutions.

For her courageous journalism and leadership in combating disinformation, Ressa has received numerous accolades. In 2021, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. She was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2018, one of its 100 Most Influential People in 2019, and one of its Most Influential Women of the Century. She has also been recognised by the BBC and Prospect magazine as one of the world’s most inspiring and influential thinkers.

Ressa is the author of three books addressing terrorism and authoritarianism in Southeast Asia: Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of al-Qaeda’s Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia, From Bin Laden to Facebook: 10 Days of Abduction, 10 Years of Terrorism, and How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future.