Professor Peter Greste

Journalist, academic and convicted terrorist

Professor Peter Greste is Australia’s most unlikely convicted terrorist. A foreign correspondent with 25 years experience, he was in Egypt covering the unfolding political crisis when he and two colleagues were arrested and charged with terrorism offences.

They were convicted in a sham trial and sentenced to seven years in prison. After an intense international campaign, he was released after 400 days.

In his inspiring, entertaining, and at times harrowing talk, Peter speaks about his experience behind bars, the psychological strategies he used to survive, and the lessons he still draws on today.

Professor Peter Greste Book as a speaker/entertainer for your next event

Key Points for Professor Peter Greste

Professor Peter Greste is one of Australia’s most experienced foreign correspondents, with 25 years abroad for the BBC, Reuters and Al Jazeera in some of the world’s most dangerous environments.
In 2011 he won a Peabody Award – one of the world’s most prestigious for broadcast journalism – for a BBC documentary on Somalia.
In 2013 he was arrested in Cairo on terrorism charges. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison. He wrote about his experience, and what he describes as the wider ‘war on journalism’ in his book, “The First Casualty”, published in 2017. The book has been made into a major film, The Correspondent, starring Richard Roxburg, due in Cinemas nation-wide in April 2025. The book has been updated and re-published as The Correspondent, to coincide with the film’s Release.
He is Australia’s most recognisable media freedom activist, and regularly writes for The Guardian, The Australian, Crikey, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Conversation.
For his advocacy, he has won numerous awards including from the Royal Television Society in the UK, the International Association of Press Clubs, the Australian Human Rights medal, and a Walkley Award.

Topics for Professor Peter Greste

Coping with crisis: Lessons in resilience from a convicted terrorist
This topic explores the experience of imprisonment, and the psychological strategies Greste developed to survive.
Abandon hope: why the “cross-your-fingers” strategy is dangerous
This topic unpacks one of Greste’s most profound lessons of prison – that ‘hope’ encourages us to focus on things beyond our control, and avoids dealing with the most powerful thing we can control – our own minds.
The Grey Zone: How 9/11 created a conflict over ideas that is destroying democracy
This topic explores the zone of tolerance – the space between the blacks-and-whites of polarized extremes essential to democracy, but that appears to be unravelling. The recent US election saw the Grey Zone diminish, along with the rise of far-right parties in Europe.

Testimonials for Professor Peter Greste

Peter Greste was amazing and so inspiring. We are proud the conference was able to share the latest in research, innovation and solutions on Collaboration for prevention and change. The keynote speakers were exceptional. In particular, the positive message from Peter Greste about how he overcame the adversity of his experience to deliver a positive message. His capacity to look forward was inspirational.
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