Fabrice Turri, a project coordinator in search of fresh air
Originally from France, journalist Fabrice Turri, 45, fell head over heels in love with Vietnam. As the regional coordinator of the new Media for One Health project based in South-East Asia, he welcomes the opportunity to encourage journalists there to produce content about their environment.
French journalist Fabrice Turri, a longtime resident of Vietnam, regularly talks to Radio France Internationale (RFI) about environmental and health issues including swine fever, food safety and industrial pollution. His mother Martine wasn’t at all surprised by the career path he chose: As a child, Fabrice was already very aware of other people and his environment. He loved cycling through the forest of Fontainebleau.
But Fabrice’s path to becoming a journalist wasn’t always an easy one. I had to leave message after message on the 'Reporters d'Europe' programme answering machine to get Europe 1 to run my story on the Fontainebleau forest eco-warriors. I was in awe when I finally got to walk into the studios, he recalls. The challenge didn’t put him off though. Once he had graduated from his scientific baccalaureate, he went on to enrol at the Toulouse School of Journalism (EJT) before undertaking a number of media internships in France, Senegal and Madagascar.
When he made it to Vietnam in 2006, it felt like "a breath of fresh air": "I loved the people, the culture and the work. As an audiovisual attaché at the French cultural centre in Hanoi, I was in charge of film production and I met with press executives.” After a brief stint back in France (2010-2013), during which he worked for various television channels, Fabrice returned to Vietnam. Since then he has worked as a photographer, videographer and writer for various media outlets.
New horizons
In 2019, COVID-19 hit and countries the world over battened down the hatches. But Fabrice remained open to new horizons. Working as a trainer for CFI’s Mekong: Sustainable News project, he delivered four sessions for journalists in the region: The journalists were keen to take part because they were already interested in environmental issues. After our training sessions, they published an impressive number of articles.
Vietnamese journalist Vu Duc Khuynh, another trainer for the project, explained why Fabrice was right for the role: The trainees were very happy! Fabrice is a good trainer. He understands the thought processes, the strengths and weaknesses of Vietnamese journalists.
Embracing a new challenge, Fabrice has taken on the regional coordinator role for the Media for One Health project, which officially launched in Hanoi in May 2024. Now he must choose the most influential and motivated specialist journalists to raise awareness of the “One Health” approach,* which - Vu Duc Khuynh explains - is “unknown in Vietnam”.
We'll be giving journalists the opportunity to meet researchers and organising field visits. There really is a lot to say on the topic: Hanoi is regularly ranked as the most polluted city in the world and the Vietnamese people are extremely concerned about their health, Fabrice observes, more committed than ever to his search for clean air.
Portrait by Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy (Journalistes Médiateurs)
* The ‘One Health’ approach invites us to think differently about health, recognising the interdependence of the wellbeing of humans, animals and the ecosystems they share on our one planet. It uses the close and interdependent links between these three facets to develop new methods for monitoring and preventing disease (source: World Health Organization).