Leighton Rowells
| Name: | Leighton Rowells |  |
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| Biography: | Leighton Rowells, M.S. in Global Media and Cultures in French, defended her project "Effects of Epidemics on the Freedom of Expression: Lessons for the Global COVID-19 Response". Leighton is interning at the Carter Center, with their team overseeing programs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She will be researching the DRC's record on freedom of expression and freedom of the press, particularly during a pandemic. "By examining documented violations of those freedoms during the country's recent Ebola epidemic in 2018, I identified potential threats to these rights amid the current pandemic," Leighton says. "I argue that freedom of expression is critical to the defense of all other human rights, including the right to health. Journalists should be embraced and protected as key partners in the pandemic response." Leighton has been interning at the Carter Center since January, and this project continues her work researching human rights in the DRC, analyzing Congolese media, and conducting with French-to-English translation. | |