Michael Petrou

Nieman Fellow and roving reporter appearing on Panel 7: Echoes of Rwanda Dec. 3, 10:15–11:45

Michael Petrou is an award-winning writer and former roving reporter for Maclean’s magazine. He has covered wars and conflicts across Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia. He is the author of “Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War” and holds a doctorate in modern history from the University of Oxford.

Petrou is a fellow at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies. He currently resides in Boston where he was awarded a Nieman Fellowship to examine how the Syrian Civil War has led to the largest displacement of people since World War II. He has won three National Magazine Awards. His 2012 book, “Is This Your First War? Travels Through the Post — 9/11 Islamic World”, won the Ottawa Book Award for non-fiction.

Petrou will present on the so-called Islamic State’s media propaganda efforts, their impact on the Yazidi genocide, and how the international media has covered the Islamic State’s mass atrocities. He will address fellow panelists and attendees on Dec. 3, at 10:15 a.m.