Speakers

Over three days, the Stazione Leopolda in Florence will be a meeting point for journalists, media experts, media literacy professionals, activists and citizens. 
Swipe down to to find the festival speakers lineup and stay tuned for updates, more inspiring voices are forthcoming!

Agata has over 15 years of experience in the field of innovative education and supporting digital competences development. During her career she has developed and scaled internatio

After graduating with honors in Political Science at the University of Rome (La Sapienza). From 1987 to 1990 she worked as a parliamentary assistant (Chamber of Deputies), then as

Ali Mahfoud is a Libyan journalist and researcher based in France. His main focus is on immigration and asylum issues, as well as the geopolitical scene in the EU-MENA region. He i

Ana Tudela is an investigative economic journalist with over 20 years of experience in national media in Spain. Specialising in crafting new narratives, she is recognised as a pion

Andrea Backhaus is an independent journalist and reporter from Germany specialised in war and conflict. She lived in Egypt and Lebanon for several years and has done extensive cove

Anna Meli is a journalist and expert in human mobility and international relations. She serves as the President of the COSPE (an international NGO committed to giving support to ma

Antal Józing is a Hungarian journalist who has been working for local media for over 25 years. He mainly focuses on political and economic issues. He has been working for the larg

Bastian Greshake Tzovaras is a Senior Researcher within the Tools, Practices, Systems programme of the Alan Turing Institute in London, the UK’s national institute for data s

Benedetta Baldi is a Full Professor of Glottology and Linguistics at the University of Florence, where she teaches courses on Political Discourse and Linguistic Strategies, Languag

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

It all began within the editorial boards of two of Portugal’s major newspapers, Público and Diário de Notícias. At the age of 23, Caterina investigated and reported on an

Cecilia Anesi is the Executive Director of IRPI (Investigative Reporting Project Italy), Italy’s investigative journalism, which she co-founded in 2012. Cecilia is also an invest

Cecilia Fasciani is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker, she works in the world of independent cinema and multimedia reportage. Cecilia’s research mainly focuses on

Derek Bowler is the Head of Social Newsgathering at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), where he leads a global team of digital verification journalists and OSINT investigations

Diletta Bellotti (Rome, 1995) is a political activist and writer. In 2019, after graduating in International Migration, she launched an awareness campaign to expose labor exploitat

Divina Frau-Meigs is a Professor of media and information and communications technology sociology at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, France. She holds several degrees from the S

Donato Di Bartolomeo is Senior Programme Manager at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. In the last 15 years, he has been working on research and capacity-building

Eefje Blankevoort (1978) studied History and Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. Since then, she has evolved into a versatile journalist, writing articles and books,

EUI Part-Time Professor. Member of EDMO, European Digital Media Observatory, and former member of EDMO Executive Board. Within EDMO she coordinates Task V, Policy analysis and rese

Elizabeth Milovidov (PhD) is the founder of Digital Parenting Coach.com, a resource for parents and caregivers navigating the digital landscape. As a lawyer, law professor, and chi

Fabio Mauri is a traveler, photographer, and IT and communication consultant. In 2018, he founded DG MEME, a satirical page aimed at humorously exploring the challenges, contradict

Francesca De Benedetti is a senior editor at Domani, where she specializes in covering European affairs. Additionally, De Benedetti contributes columns on European politics to Vani

After graduating with a degree in History from the University of Genoa, Franco Revelli specialised in filmmaking. He has directed numerous documentaries, as well as fiction shorts

Georgine Kellermann, born Georg Kellermann in 1957 in Ratingen, became editor of the newly launched ARD morning magazine in 1992 and reported as a correspondent from Washington and

Giovanni Spitale is a researcher with a background in philosophy and a PhD in medical sciences. He works at the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine at the Univer

Ides Debruyne is the co-founder and managing director of Journalismfund Europe (an independent non‐profit intermediary established in 1998 to stimulate independent investigative

Iryna Vidanava is a business viability advisor at International Media Support (IMS) and a co-founder of CityDog, a leading independent digital magazine about Minsk and Belarus. P

Iva Nenadić, PhD in Communication Science, studies media pluralism in the context of content curation, ranking and moderation policies of online platforms, democratic implicat

Ivana Dragičević is award-winning journalist, currently editor-at-large at N1 Television, and an exclusive CNN affiliate for the Adria-Balkans Region. During 2022/2023, she was E

James Jackson is a Berlin-based independent journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker. A former International Journalists’ Programmes (IJP) Fellow and Deutsche Welle

Joseph Beaudreau is a doctoral candidate at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and serves as an Assistant Professor and Researcher at the Pléiade laboratory, Université Sorbonne Pari

Julia Savchenko is a journalist, TV anchor, and media manager with two decades of international experience. Her diverse roles have involved producing TV and radio shows in London,

As the Editorial AI Solutions and Innovation Coach at Yle (Finland’s largest media company) Jyri Kivimäki has dedicated almost a decade to pioneering the integration of arti

Lara Pilcante is the editor of RSI EDU and RSI SPAM, both digital products of Radiotelevisione Svizzera, the public media company providing a multimedia public service in the Itali

Lavinia Dori is a communication science student with a background in classical studies. She is also currently studying to become an event planner. “I strongly believe that an

Having studied Physics and Computer Science, Letitia is now a PhD candidate conducting research in Artificial Intelligence at Heidelberg University. In her research, she focuses on

Lorenzo Balgioni is a Florentine singer, actor, and author. After graduating in mathematics from the University of Florence and teaching in high schools for a few years, in 2012 he

Luca Rinaldi is a journalist, who leads Dossier, the investigations section of MilanoToday (citynews group). He was co-founder and director of IrpiMedia and is currently part of IR

Mădălina Boțan is an Associate Professor at the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration (SNSPA) in Bucharest, where she also serves as a Senior Resear

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,

Marc Marginedas is a senior reporter at the International desk of El Periódico, the flagship publication of Prensa Ibérica, one of the largest media groups in Spain. His career b

Marco Zatterin, born in Rome, is a European journalist with a career spanning since 1982. He began his journey as a writer in 1986 and has been a member of the staff at La Stampa s

Maria Luisa Stasi is Head of Law and Policy for digital markets at ARTICLE 19. She is a competition lawyer by background with expertise in media, telecoms, and digital sectors. In

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

Martina Recchiuti is editor-in-chief of Internazionale Kids, the monthly magazine for children aged 7 to 13 published by Internazionale. From 2021, together with the rest of the ed

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

Maura Gancitano is a philosopher and writer. She is the co-founder of Tlon alongside Andrea Colamedici. Tlon is a cultural and philosophical popularisation project that takes vario

Mohammed Rafiqui is a well-known Moroccan intellectual and doctoral researcher in Islamic studies, particularly on religious reform and legal issues related to religion. He is a fo

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

Nathalie Labourdette is the founder and former Director (1999-2023) of the EBU Academy brand, where she developed a professional-to-professional model aimed at upskilling broadcast

Nicola Zolin is a photojournalist and writer working for the main newspapers and magazines worldwide. He earned a BA in Mass Communication (Padua-The Hague) and a MSc in Internatio

Olivier Roy (1949) is currently joint-chair at the RSCAS and SPS department of the EUI, and Adjunct Professor at the EUI School of Transnational Governance. Previously he has been

Özüm Çelik is an Alevi Muslim raised in Istanbul. Although she does not practice religion, her family has taught her the values of Alevi Islam, and she feels part of the communi

Pablo Sole (Cagliari, 1977) is a professional journalist, he is editor-in-chief of the investigative periodical Indip.it From 2003 to 2011, he worked at the daily newspaper La Nuov

Piermarco Aroldi is a Full professor at the Faculty of Education, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and Piacenza, where he teaches ‘Sociology of culture and comm

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

Ramona Strugariu is a Member of the European Parliament elected in Romania in 2019 and affiliated to the Renew Europe Group. She is a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Ju

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

Rossella Vignola is Project Manager and fundraiser at Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT). She has coordinated and assisted several EU projects in different fields (med

Sara Manisera is an independent reporter and author working in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, and Italy. Sara’s research mainly focuses on e

He joined RAI in 1990 and was first a correspondent for the Tg3 columns, then for RaiNews24, where he carried out numerous investigations into illegal waste trafficking and the maf

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

Professor Tapio Varis is an expert in media and e-learning solutions. He held the Chair of Professional Education, focusing on global learning environments at the Research Centre f

Tommaso Canetta has been serving as the Deputy Director of Pagella Politica and Facta News since 2020. He has been engaged in fact-checking since 2016 and has been a professional j

Ute Korinth is a journalist, resilience trainer, and author. She has been the deputy head of an online newsroom for over 20 years and has been giving freelance seminars and trainin

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

Vittorio di Trapani (48), a Rai journalist, who was elected President of the Federazione Nazionale della Stampa Italiana (FNSI) in February 2023. He was delegated by the FNSI to pa

Born in Thessaloniki (Greece) in 1969, Yannis is the director of the Journalists’ Union of Macedonia and Thrace (ESIEMTH) and its Cultural Foundation. He has worked as a journali

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