President Emeritus, Commonwealth Journalists Association, freelance journalist and media adviser, Rita Payne Media. Other positions: Adviser, Asian Affairs magazine and The Democracy Forum, member of the editorial board, Round Table, Commonwealth journal on international affairs, executive board member, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Vice-President, Uniting for Peace.
Rita writes for a range of publications covering politics, the media, culture, travel and tourism Rita is invited to speak at public meetings and on TV and radio on topical issues and participate in workshops and seminars in the UK and abroad. She has chaired sessions at the One World Media Festival, Rotary World Peace Symposium and moderated key dialogues at the UN World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro and Nanjing. She was a member of the Commonwealth Election Observer Missions to the Solomon Islands and Sierra Leone. She worked for nearly thirty years at the BBC until 2008. Her last position at the BBC was Asia Editor, BBC World News (TV) with responsibility for three news programmes a day. Before moving to TV Rita was a news editor/producer/presenter at BBC World Service radio. She was nominated for the BBC Global Reith Awards 2009 and Asian Woman of Achievement Awards 2006. She was born in Assam, India.
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