Journalist, sociologist, foreign correspondent, documentary-maker, activist and adventurer, Jonathan Bogais is an advocate of indigenous movements in the Pacific and east Asian regions.
Jonathan holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of the Sorbonne in Paris. His thesis and later works, exploring the cultural identity of Pacific and East Asian islanders, brought new perspectives on the struggles faced by the inhabitants of many islands and the inevitable changes to come. Eager to share knowledge and information, he chose journalism as a preferred means of expression - also acting as an analyst.
As early as the mid 1980s, Jonathan became part of a movement led by European sociologists and journalists who raised concerns on the inevitable long-term consequences of forthcoming neo-liberal policies led by Western interests that would follow the fall of the Soviet block, including ethnic conflicts, massive displacements of people, refugee, environmental and economic crisis . Three decades later, all of these happened.
Fully bi-lingual (French/English), Jonathan worked as a foreign correspondent and analyst for international media organisations including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio Canada (South-East Asia & Pacific correspondent) and Agence France Press (AFP). He has a considerable experience ranging from front-line investigating and reporting to background reports, spanning from Africa to South-East Asia, PNG and Timor.
Jonathan was also a regular correspondent to the London-based international edition of the Art Newspaper, Le Monde and National Geographic. He reported on the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Stolen Generation reports in the 1990s in Australia and was one of the first foreign journalists to bring the issue of Aboriginal copyrights to an international audience in 1996.
He was on the production teams of the acclaimed “Solo” documentary on the Andrew McAuley story in 2008, and the National Geographic Channel's Naked Science documentary: "Sahul - First Across the Ocean". Both documentaries had worldwide audiences.
He is currently writing the story of the late Aboriginal (Australia) activist, Charles “Chicka” Dixon.
When he’s not working, Jonathan is a keen photographer and an extreme outdoor activities’ enthusiast. A dedicated adventurer and solo-sailor with a comprehensive track-record, his love for nature caused him to become a leading activist in support of environmental issues worldwide. He is involved in an outdoor sport and adventure training centre, also sponsoring and supervising a range of “Kids at Risk” sailing programmes in Sydney.
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Organisations Jonathan has, or still represents:
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Active member of the International Federation of Journalists, and Reporters Sans Frontières.
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Respecting and following protocols relating to Indigenous cultural matters and intellectual property