Global Tipping Points - Covering Conflict: Uncovering War Crimes

T. William & Patricia Ayers:

Global Tipping Points -

Covering Conflict: 

Uncovering War Crimes

What is it like to report from conflict zones and politically volatile regions where every story carries risk and urgency? How do journalists navigate complex environments to deliver accurate, impactful reporting to the world?

Join us for a conversation with Yousur Alhlou, award-winning journalist and correspondent, who has covered international crises and human rights issues with firsthand reporting from some of the world’s most challenging regions. Yousur will share insights from her career, the challenges of reporting under pressure, and the critical role of journalists in shaping public understanding of global events.

This event is part of the Covering Conflict series, highlighting the experiences of journalists working in the world’s most dangerous and dynamic conflict zones. The conversation will include a moderated Q&A with the audience.

About the Speaker

Yousur Al-Hlou is a visual journalist who uses traditional field reporting, visual evidence gathering and original cinematography to investigate crimes in conflict zones. As a video journalist for The New York Times for nearly a decade, she traveled to Syria, Gaza, and Ukraine to document human rights abuses and their impact on civilians.

Her work with colleagues covering Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was awarded a 2022 George Polk Award, a 2024 DuPont Award and the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. Previously, she was a global fellow for The Associated Press in Jerusalem, an associate producer at the Investigative Reporting Program in Berkeley, and an associate producer for Al Jazeera’s documentary show “Fault Lines.”

She received her bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Currently, she is a fellow with the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University where she is studying how international humanitarian law has failed to prevent armed conflict, and the challenges for accountability mechanisms in prosecuting war crimes.