Lyse Doucet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lyse Doucet
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Doucet in 2017
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| Born | 24 December 1958 Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada
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| Occupation | Journalist, television presenter |
| Employer | BBC |
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Notable credit(s)
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| Relatives | Andrea Doucet (sister) |
Lyse Marie Doucet is a well-known Canadian journalist. She was born on December 24, 1958. She works for the BBC as their Chief International Correspondent and a senior presenter. This means she travels the world to report on important news stories.
You can see and hear her on BBC World Service radio and BBC World News television. She also reports for other BBC channels in the United Kingdom, like BBC Radio 4 and BBC News. Besides reporting, she also creates and presents special TV shows called documentaries.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lyse Doucet grew up in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada. She was born there on December 24, 1958. She is one of six children. Her sister, Andrea Doucet, is a professor who studies people and society. Lyse has family roots from both Acadian and Irish backgrounds.
She went to Queen's University at Kingston in Ontario and earned a degree in 1980. While there, she wrote for the university's newspaper. When she was younger, Lyse enjoyed curling, a sport played on ice. She was even the team leader for New Brunswick's curling team at the 1975 Canada Winter Games.
In 1982, she earned a master's degree in international relations from the University of Toronto. In the same year, she volunteered for four months in the Ivory Coast (a country in West Africa). She taught English there with an organization called Canadian Crossroads International. Today, she is an honorary supporter of this group. Lyse speaks English and French very well. She also knows some Dari and Arabic.
Lyse Doucet's Career
Lyse Doucet started her career as a freelance reporter in West Africa from 1983 to 1988. She worked for both Canadian news and the BBC. This experience helped her get a full-time job with the BBC.
She reported from Pakistan in 1988. From late 1988 to 1989, she was based in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her job was to cover the Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and what happened afterward. From 1989 to 1993, she was the BBC's reporter in Islamabad, Pakistan. During this time, she also reported from Afghanistan and Iran.
In 1994, Lyse opened the BBC office in Amman, Jordan. From 1995 to 1999, she was based in Jerusalem and traveled all over the Middle East. In 1999, she became a presenter for the BBC, but she still continued to report from different places around the world.
Key Reporting Moments
Lyse Doucet played a big part in the BBC's news coverage of the Arab Spring. This was a time when many protests and changes happened in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. She has reported on all the major conflicts in the Middle East since the mid-1990s. She has also visited Pakistan and Afghanistan many times since the late 1980s.
Her work also includes reporting on the effects of big natural disasters. For example, she covered the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, traveling to India and Indonesia. She also regularly appears on Dateline London, a TV show where BBC journalists discuss current events.
Documentaries and Special Series
Lyse Doucet has made several important documentaries:
- In 2014, she made Children of Syria with Robin Barnwell. This film was nominated for a BAFTA Award.
- In 2015, she created Children of the Gaza War with James Jones.
- In 2018, she presented two documentaries called Syria: The World's War for BBC Two and BBC World.
Starting in 2018, Lyse presented a five-part radio series called Her Story Made History on BBC Radio 4. In this series, she interviewed five amazing women about how women and democracy are connected. A second series was broadcast in 2019.
In August 2021, she reported a lot from Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. This was when international forces left Afghanistan, and the Taliban took control. Later in 2021, she made a 10-episode podcast for BBC Sounds called A Wish for Afghanistan.
In February 2022, she reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, for the BBC's coverage of the Russian invasion.
Other Activities
Lyse Doucet is involved in many important organizations. She used to be a member of the Council for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House. She helped start the Marie Colvin Journalists' Network, which supports journalists. She is also a trustee for the Frontline Club, a place for journalists.
She is part of the Canadian Journalism Forum on Trauma and Violence. This group helps journalists deal with difficult experiences. Lyse also supports Friends of Aschiana UK, a charity that helps street children in Afghanistan. She is an honorary patron of Canadian Crossroads International, the organization she volunteered with earlier in her life.
Lyse is proud of her family history and attends the Acadian World Congress every five years. She believes it's important to understand her own background, just as she learns about other cultures in her work.
On January 30, 2022, she was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. On this show, guests choose songs they would take with them if they were stranded on a desert island.
Awards and Recognition
Lyse Doucet has received many awards for her excellent journalism. Here are some of them:
- In 2002, she was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award for her special reporting on an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
- In 2003, she won a Silver Sony Award for News Broadcaster of the Year for her interview with Yasser Arafat.
- In 2007, she was named International Television Personality of the Year. She also received an award from Women in Film and Television.
- In 2010, she won a Peabody Award and a David Bloom award for her film about mothers in Afghanistan. She also won Best News Journalist at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.
- In 2012, her team won an Edward Murrow award for their radio reports from Tunisia.
- In 2014, her team was part of the BBC's Emmy award-winning coverage of the Syrian conflict. Lyse also won the ITV Studios Achievement of the Year Award.
- In 2015, she won the Sandford St Martin trustees’ award for her clear reporting on religious aspects of global events. She also received a Bayeux-Calvados Award for war correspondents and a One World Media's Radio Award for a documentary on Afghan women.
- In 2016, she received the Columbia School of Journalism Award for outstanding journalism.
- In 2017, she was given the Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award at the International Media Awards. She also received the Charles Wheeler Award for her great work in broadcast journalism.
- In 2017, her team won the Luchetta Prize for their story about a Syrian teenager, which raised awareness about children in war.
- In 2018, she received "The Trailblazer Award" from Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security. She also won the #ChangeTheCulture award from Their World, a charity for children.
Lyse Doucet has also received many special degrees called honorary doctorates from universities in Canada and the United Kingdom. These degrees recognize her amazing achievements.
She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2014 for her contributions to British broadcast journalism. In December 2018, she was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada. These are both very high honors. In 2021, she was nominated for another Peabody Award for her work on Afghanistan: Documenting A Crucial Year.
In March 2023, Lyse Doucet was given the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. In January 2024, she received an honorary degree from Keele University for her distinguished career in journalism.
Images for kids
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Lyse Doucet in 2017
