Speakers

For the third edition of the Festival, we have gathered some of the most relevant voices in journalism, activism, academia, civil society, and beyond. Through their experience, passion, and research, they will challenge and inspire this year’s audience. Make sure to be part of it!
Scroll down to explore the festival speaker line-up, and follow along for updates.

Adeline Hulin is Head of the Media and Information Literacy and Digital Competencies Unit at UNESCO in Paris Headquarters. Previously, she worked in the UNESCO Brussels Office wher

Aidan White is  journalist and campaigner for ethics in news media, and for the rights of journalists. He was General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists for

Alberto Puliafito is a journalist, director, and media analyst. He is the co-founder of Slow News and of IK Productions, a media agency that produces documentary films and other au

Alessandra Mancuso is an Italian journalist with more than four decades of experience in broadcast media. She spent the majority of her career at Rai, Italy’s public television n

Alessandro Cisilin, an anthropologist, journalist, and podcaster, works at Italy’s leading radio news agency (Area). He previously served as Brussels correspondent for Liberazion

Alexander Fanta is an investigative journalist with Follow the Money, specialising in EU tech and media policy. Alexander is an FOI veteran who has filed requests globally, breakin

Alexandre Le Voci Sayad is a Brazilian journalist, educator, and author. He holds a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and Ethics from PUC-SP (Brazil) and a specializatio

Alexiane Lerouge is a journalist at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Europe’s largest alliance of public service media. She heads the EBU’s networked newsroom, A European

Amalie Thorlund Jepsen is an investigative reporter at DR Documentary, Danish Broadcasting Corporation. She was one of the leading forces behind DR’s pitch to the EBU Investigati

Andrea Colamedici is a philosopher, publisher, and writer whose work explores how reality is constructed in the age of algorithmic consciousness. In 2014 he co-founded Tlon with

Is a communications specialist at the European University Institute (EUI), an international research university based in Florence. Originally from Ukraine, he works on media projec

Anna Koens is the Impact and Outreach Manager for Journalismfund Europe’s Earth Investigations programme. This initiative aims to enhance environmental journalism on European

Annabet Ampofo (28) is a Belgian TV host, journalist, and editor with a background in public broadcasting and digital storytelling. She built her career at Karrewiet, the daily new

Annalisa Camilli is an award-winning journalist who has written for the Italian magazine Internazionale since 2007. She focuses in particular on immigration, human rights and inequ

Anne Leppäjärvi is an award-winning Finnish journalism trainer and a long-standing expert in media literacy. She has trained educators and developed learning materials for a rang

Antoine Bernard, a lawyer, is the Director, Advocacy & Assistance of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), leading RSF global advocacy, strategic litigation, assistance and digital

With a degree in psychology, Antonio Bellia made his directorial debut in 1997 with the documentary “Peppino Impastato: storia di un siciliano libero” (Peppino Impastato: Story

Asia Neri is a freelance journalist and has been Editor-in-Chief of Lungarno Magazine since 2024. For years, she has been following Florence and its urban transformations not only

Azra Milić is the Digital Rights Programme Coordinator at BIRN’s regional office, joining the organisation in September 2024. Before joining BIRN, she was actively engaged in bo

Born in Messina in 1977. Graduated with honours in Literature with a specialisation in History. Teacher since 2002. Elected senator in 2018 and then in 2022, after serving as leade

Barbara Serra is an award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker and author, broadcasting and writing in both English and Italian. She regularly presents the main evening progra

Basma Mostafa is an Egyptian investigative journalist and one of the leading global voices confronting transnational repression. For more than a decade, she exposed state violence

Belén López Garrido is an Editorial Manager at the European Broadcasting Union, Europe’s largest association of public service media. A graduate of Columbia University’s Scho

Brunella Fiore is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Research at the University of Milano-Bicocca. She teaches Sociology of Education in the Primary Educ

Carien J. Touwen is a senior lecturer and coordinator of international relations and education at the School of Journalism in Utrecht (part of the HU University of Applied Sciences

Carine Fouteau is a journalist, president and publishing editor of Mediapart, a french independent, investigative website providing daily news and feature articles and which offers

Celine Mc Gillycuddy works in Media development as an Assistant Director for Coimisiún Na Meán, Ireland’s media regulator. With +20 years media industry experience, she has des

Charlie Shepherd leads the policy and communications for The Guardian Foundation, a global charity dedicated to promoting press freedom, media literacy and access to quality libera

Professional journalist from Tuscany. She has worked since 2001 at Controradio, a historic Tuscan radio broadcaster. In 2023, she was appointed Editorial Director of Controradio, b

Cristiano Lucchi, professional journalist and media activist, is the editor-in-chief of Fuori Binario, a newspaper for homeless people, published in Florence by Periferie al Centro

Cristina Nistor-Beuran is a PhD Associate Professor at the Journalism and Digital Media Department from Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania, where she coordinates the Journalism Prog

Dario Dalmacija is a Croatian journalist, video producer and founder of The Video Lab, a Zagreb-based production company focused on digital storytelling and branded content. He beg

Diego Agundez is the head of the Multimedia and News media sector at the Directorate-General (DG) for DG Communications Networks Content and Technology at the European Commission.

Dimitri Bettoni is a researcher at the Italian think tank Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT). He holds a PhD in journalism, security and surveillance from the Institut

Edna Sorgelsen is a Belgian drag queen who gained significant popularity after participating in the first season of Drag Race Belgique, a televised competition among drag artists p

Edoardo Anziano is an investigative reporter at the independent Italian outlet IrpiMedia, covering organized crime and drug trafficking. He graduated with an Erasmus Mundus Master&

Elena Rodina is a press freedom expert specialising in journalistic resistance and cross-border collaboration. She coordinates Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium at ECPMF, dri

Elisa Giomi has been an AGCOM Commissioner since September 2020. She is an Associate Professor of Sociology of Cultural and Communication Processes at Roma Tre University, where sh

Eman Alhaj Ali is a Palestinian freelance journalist, writer, translator, and storyteller who was forced to evacuate Gaza in April 2025. She is currently based in Ireland doing her

Erik Jones is Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute and Non-resident Scholar at Carnegie Europe. Professor Jones is author

Eva Pastorelli is a researcher and campaigner at ReCommon, an association fighting against abuse of power and the plundering of territories to create spaces for social transformati

Currently a Master’s student in Journalism at Sciences Po, Evann Hislers took a gap year to learn programming at École 42. Based in Paris, he has completed several internships i

Federica Delogu is a freelance journalist and part of the Centro di giornalismo permanente, a collective of journalists based in Rome. She has written for various outlets, focusing

Italian journalist based in Istanbul for over 10 years, covering Turkey and the region. After graduating in Communication and Political Science at Bologna University, he spent a fe

Flutura Kusari is a Legal Advisor at the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, which supports hundreds of media workers across Europe. She also advocates with international

Francesca Albanese is an international lawyer, specialised in human rights and the Middle East. Since May 2022, she has served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situa

Francesca De Benedetti is senior editor at the Italian daily Domani, where she covers European politics. In 2024 she has been a fellow at IWM Vienna, where she won the Milena Jesen

Francesca Festa is Associate Development Director at Médianes and co-founder of the Sphera Network. Specialised in European fundraising and in the management of complex multi-part

Francesca Gnetti is an Italian journalist, Middle East editor at the magazine Internazionale. She also edits the newsletter Mediorientale, which is out every Wednesday.

Francesco Cancellato is editor-in-chief of the online newspaper Fanpage.it and a member of the board of directors of the European Journalism Centre. From December 2014 to September

Gabriel Rinaldi is team lead at Süddeutsche Zeitung Dossier Digitalwende, covering the digital dimension of security and politics. He began his career in political journalism as a

Gian-Paolo Accardo is an Italian-Dutch journalist born in Brussels in 1969. He is the editor-in-chief of Voxeurop and the co-founder of Voxeurop European Cooperative Society. He

Gianluca Liva is an Italian science journalist specialising in environmental crime and toxicology. His reporting explores the intersection of science, public health, and environmen

Iva Nenadić is an Assistant Professor at the European University Institute (Florence, Italy) and the Faculty of Media and Public Relations, University of Dubrovnik (Croatia), spec

Ivana Dragičević is award-winning journalist, stratcom and geopolitics consultant. She is one of the founding members of Europe’s Futures Initiative in Vienna. She worked a

Jamie Wiseman is a media freedom advocate at the International Press Institute (IPI), a global media freedom organisation based in Vienna. As Senior Europe Advocacy Officer, he hea

Hong Kong-born cultural analyst and philosopher, author of the bestseller Hypnocracy.

Juan Carlos López Calvet is Director of Data & AI at Schibsted, where he drives the practical use of machine learning and data platforms to strengthen public-interest journali

Julia advises the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media at the intersection of human rights, technology, diplomacy, and security, leading the Office’s digital portfolio and

Konstantina Bandutova is a communications and media professional at Bulgaria’s first national private media – bTV Media Group, where she has been focused on contributing to

Laura Rahm is a political sociologist and demographer specializing in global governance and gender equality. She is currently a Policy Leader Fellow at the School of Transnational

Lilith Gianelle is the owner of L’ornitorinco bookstore. After completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Management at the University of Florence, she worked as event, pro

Luca Sofri is editorial director of Il Post, which he founded in 2010 and directed until 2025. He previously worked with Il Foglio, Vanity Fair, and Wired. He hosted Otto e mezzo

Luciana Esposito (Naples, 1984) lives in Cercola, bordering Ponticelli, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Naples. In 2014, she founded Napolitan.it, an independent editor

Maja Sever is the President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). With almost three decades of experience, Sever built her career in the Croatian public television HRT,

Marco Omizzolo has written numerous national and international essays regarding the severe exploitation of the workforce in agriculture with particular attention on foreign labour.

Marijana Grbeša is a Professor at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Political Science where she teaches courses in media, research methods, and strategic communication in poli

Marta Vukadin has a Master’s degree in Public Relations and Public Media. Her first work experience was acquired at UNIDU, the student radio and television organization. In the f

Matthew Caruana Galizia is the director of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation. He previously worked at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), where he

Melissa Chan is an Emmy-nominated journalist based between Los Angeles and Berlin. She has reported everywhere from Cuba to Canada, Mongolia to Moscow, North and South Korea. These

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, journalist in the last 30 years in various newspaper in Israel. Winner of the Napoli International Prize for Journalism for a inquiry about the stealing o

Associate Professor at the Politecnico di Milano, Department of Design, he is co-director of DensityDesign Lab, a research group focused on information design and data visualizatio

Mila Moralic is an Editor and a Reporter from Croatia, who was awarded the best TV journalist in Croatia for 2025. by the Croatian Journalist Association. With 20 + years of experi

Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė is the director general of the Lithuanian public service media group Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT). Since 2021, she has been a m

Mortaza Behboudi is a Franco-Afghan war reporter and documentary filmmaker. Recognized for his commitment to covering conflict zones, he was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2019 i

Nadia Vissers serves as the Director of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA), an organization that brings together over 80 journalism centers, schools, and universit

Natalie Donback is an independent journalist based in Barcelona covering climate change, human rights, and politics. Her work has appeared in TIME, The Guardian, Grist, Rest of Wor

Neus Vidal is the Executive Director of the Seek Initiative, a non-profit organisation that trains and supports citizens and journalists to carry out investigations in the public i

As part of the European team of journalists at Investigate Europe, Nico Schmidt collaborates with colleagues from several EU countries. Together, they have uncovered significant st

Sr. Nina Krapić is a communication expert at the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See. She coordinates the Pentecost Project, a global initiative dedicated to training reli

Paolo Berizzi is an Italian journalist and essayist, and a special correspondent for the newspaper la Repubblica, where he has worked since 2000. He is best known for his investiga

In 2021 Paolo Casalis directed “Food Rebels”, awarded with Premio Eusalp at Trento Film Festival. In 2020 he was the director of “I stay home”, the first documentary in the

Paolo is the Founder and Director of the European Association for Viewers Interests, EAVI – the international organisation based in Brussels that has been working on media litera

Paula Gori is based at the European University Institute and is the Secretary-General and Coordinator of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), which she contributed to set

Peter Gomez began his career in 1984 at the Verona-based daily newspaper L’Arena. In 1986 he joined Il Giornale, before following its founder Indro Montanelli to La Voce. From 19

Peter Westerholm is the Content Development Manager at the News and Sports department at Yle, Finland’s national public service media broadcaster, where he has become a leading v

Pier Luigi Parcu is Director of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom as well as Director of the Centre for a Digital Society, at the Robert Schuman Centre. From 2004 he

Priscilla Ruggiero is a journalist at Il Foglio, working on the Foreign Desk. She studied Oriental Languages and Cultures at Sapienza University of Rome and Chinese language at Bei

Raffaele Angius is a Sardinian journalist. He works for the investigative news outlet IrpiMedia and, in 2020, he co-founded Indip, an investigative newspaper based in Sardinia. He

Renate Schroeder is the Director of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), in 1993 she joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and since 2003 she has worked

René Schaar is a Diversity Manager at Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in Hamburg, Germany. With more than 14 years of experience in the media industry, including eight years as a vid

Roberta Carlini is a part-time assistant professor at the EUI. She joined the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) and the Centre for a Digital Society (CDS), based

Rosalba Nodari is a fixed-term researcher and teaches Language acquisition and language teaching at the University of Siena. She has graduated with a MA in Linguistics at the Unive

Sandro Ruotolo is a journalist and MEP for the Partito Democratico, a member of the Socialisti e Democratici  (S&D) group, committed to defending freedom of information and fi

Sergiy Tomilenko is a Ukrainian journalist and human rights advocate, serving as President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) since 2017. Since the start of ru

Sielke Kelner is an OBCT researcher and advocacy officer working within the Media Freedom Rapid Response. She coordinates CASE Italia, a network of a dozen Italian civil society or

Simona Baldanzi was born in Florence and lives in the Mugello area. She is a labour and Apennines activist. She has written Figlia di una vestaglia blu (Fazi 2006, Alegre 2019), Mu

Sofia Verza is Research Associate at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom, where she has coordinated the Study on media plurality and diversity online and the ‘Lo

Tarik Yousif is a strategic leader, bridge-builder, and advocate for transformative change in media, culture, and public administration. With a career spanning cultural policy, edu

Tom Gibson joined the Committee to Protect Journalists in January 2017 and is CPJ’s lead advocate in Brussels covering the institutions of the European Union. He works to str

Tomaso Montanari (Florence, 1971), a graduate of the Scuola Normale Superiore, is Full Professor of Early Modern Art History at the University for Foreigners of Siena, of which he

Umutcan Yüksel is a humanitarian professional and researcher specialising in migration governance, development assistance, and EU external policy. He is currently a Policy Leader

Born in Rome in 1984. He covers foreign and domestic policy issues, with particular attention to crisis areas and migration routes. Every day he hosts the podcast “Scanner” for

Vera Gheno is a sociolinguist, who has collaborated with the Accademia della Crusca for 20 years. After 18 years as a contractor in various universities, since the end of 2021 she

Věra Jourová currently serves as the Vice-Rector for the Development of Human Resources and New Technologies and is also in charge of managing the Public Relations agenda at Char

Veronica DeVore is the Head of Audience at SWI swissinfo.ch, the International Service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, which publishes news and features from Switzerland in

Vicky Hristova is a Bulgarian non-binary journalist currently working for Deutsche Welle (DW). They amplify the voices of those who are often misrepresented in the media – people

Virginia Padovese is an expert on disinformation and serves as Managing Editor and Senior Vice President of Partnerships for Europe at NewsGuard. Born in Italy, she graduated in Co

Vittoria Torsello is a freelance journalist covering environmental issues, corporate accountability, and human rights violations across the Mediterranean region. She holds an Erasm

Will Cope is the Deputy Dean (Education) in the School of Creative Industries at Southampton Solent University in England. He is responsible for curriculum (educational) developmen

For more than four decades, William Drozdiak has been regarded as one of the most knowledgeable American observers of European affairs.  During his tenure as foreign editor of the

Yousef Habache is a Franco-Palestinian journalist and media advocate, and Head of the European Branch of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS). His work focuses on the protec

Youssef Zeineddine is a Lebanese communications specialist based at the European University Institute, where he works with the European Media and Information Fund. His career has t

 
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