Speakers

For the fourth 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.

Abdullah Al Shammary is a naturalized Greek citizen, humanitarian worker, interpreter, refugee-site support worker and caregiver for unaccompanied minors. He has over ten years of

Agnieszka Wiśniewska – Chairwoman of the Board of the Stanisław Brzozowski Association. From 2016 to 2025, she served as editor-in-chief of KrytykaPolityczna.pl; from 2009 to 2

Alexander Damiano Ricci is EU grant coordinator at CORRECTIV and a senior podcast producer. He is a founding member of Europod and the Sphera Network. Between 2018 and 2025, Alexan

Alexandra Antwi-Boasiako is a Hamburg-based moderator working in German and English across media, politics, technology and culture. She has spoken on AI and bias at the German Jour

Alton Grizzle is a Programme Specialist in Communication and Information at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, contributing to UNESCO’s global work on media and information literacy.

Anastasia Karadimitri is an Athens-based investigative journalist working with the independent media outlets Inside Story and Journalism Initiative, combining journalism with photo

Anastasia Psalti is Professor of School and Counselling Psychology at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki. Her research covers children’s digital media use, parental me

Anna Herold is currently Head of the Audiovisual and Media Services Policy Unit at the European Commission. She was previously Member of Cabinet of Günther H. Oettinger, European

Anne Leppäjärvi is President of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA) and a doctoral researcher at Tampere University, Finland, where she studies the relationship b

Bastian Obermayer, born 1977, is a Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative reporter. With his colleague Frederik Obermaier he received the ground breaking Panama Papers leak from an a

Byron Smith is an award-winning international photographer known for capturing the raw essence of conflict and migration, hoping to show these stories’ echoing impact on the

Cady Kielmann is an Innovation Strategist at the Dutch national public broadcaster BNNVARA. She explores how developments in media, technology and society are reshaping the future

Camille Magnissalis monitors press freedom violations for the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in the EU and candidate countries, as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Respons

Can Dündar has worked as a journalist for 47 years for leading newspapers, magazines and Turkish TV channels. In 2016, he stepped down as editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet after being

Christos Nikolaidis was born in 1970 in Thessaloniki, Greece, he studied Journalism at Pigier College and holds an MA from Middlesex University London. Since 1989, he has worked as

Daniel Witte is a Director in the Corporate Sustainability Advisory team at SLR Consulting, a leading global sustainability advisory firm. He is a media expert and leads the Respon

Dirk Schrödter, born in 1978, has served as Head of the State Chancellery of the State of Schleswig-Holstein since 2017. Since 2022, he has also been Minister for Digitalisation a

Eefje Blankevoort is a Dutch documentary filmmaker, producer and story coach, and co-founder of Amsterdam-based production company Prospektor. Her work focuses on migration, border

Eleftheria Bougoudi is a 20 year old student in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AUTH, in the faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication. She volunteers at Thinking Abyss ma

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

Els van Driel (b. 1976) studied Art History and Theology (UvA) and works as an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker specializing in asylum and migration issues. Her awa

Esra Aygin is an award-winning journalist specializing in Cyprus and a Cyprus correspondent for Reporters Without Borders. A journalist since 2000, she has worked as a freelancer a

Federico Germani is Co-director of the Information, Technology & Experimental Ethics (ITE) Lab at the IBME, University of Zurich, and Associate Professor of AI and Information

Frédéric Munsch is a French photojournalist. For over 11 years, he has covered conflicts and crises while working in close proximity to civilian populations. His work has taken h

Frits-Willem van der Hoeven is co-owner and creative director of Bendertainment Productions, a Dutch production company that makes news and entertainment for Gen Z. He has been mak

Giorgos Christides is a Greece-based investigative journalist specialised in migration. His work has been published by leading Greek and international media, including The Guardian

Iliana Papangeli is the Managing Director of Solomon, an award-winning independent investigative outlet based in Greece. Under her leadership, Solomon has gained international reco

Irene Andriopoulou Media & culture policy analyst with 20+ years of experience in media literacy, youth and CCIs. Currently Director of Education & Heritage Unit at EKKOMED

James Montague is an award-winning writer from the UK. He is a three-time winner at the British Sports Book of the Year Awards, and has reported for the New York Times and BBC Worl

Jenny Tsiropoulou was the 2025 VOICES Award winner for Environmental Journalism and, in 2024, received a cross-border grant from Journalismfund Europe for environmental reporting.

For five decades of dedication to photography, Joan Fontcuberta has developed a both artistic and theoretical activity, which focuses on issues of representation, knowledge, memory

Léa Marchal is a Brussels-based journalist and podcast producer. She currently hosts Briefed, a daily English-language podcast on European news produced by Europod. She also prese

Magdalena Stefely is a journalist and content creator specializing in investigative reporting and short-form documentaries. She began her journalism career at Austria’s public br

Mahmoud Nabeel Karrab is a Syrian entrepreneur, chef and cultural mediator based in Thessaloniki. He is the founder and chef of Laziza Street Food, an independent food concept brin

Maja Sever is President of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and President of the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists (SNH). A journalist with more than three decades of

Matthew Caruana Galizia is the son of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist who investigated high-level corruption and was assassinated in a car bombing in 2017. Since then,

Mortaza Behboudi is a Franco-Afghan war reporter and documentary filmmaker known for his coverage of conflict zones and commitment to press freedom. Named in Forbes 30 Under 30 in

Nadia Vissers is the director of the European Journalism Training Association (EJTA) which groups more than 80 journalism schools from all over Europe with the main aim to cooperat

Nevşin Mengü is an eminent Turkish journalist with a background in Political Science from Bilkent University and a master’s degree in Social Studies on Turkey from Galatasaray

Oksana Leuta is a Ukrainian fixer, field producer, interpreter and performer based in Kyiv. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, she has worked with internation

Olaya Argüeso Pérez is an experienced investigative journalist specializing in cross-border reporting. She is Economics Desk Editor at The European Correspondent. Before that, sh

Olivier Van Bockstael is a Project Officer at UNESCO, where he works on Media and Information Literacy and digital competencies. He contributes to the development and implementatio

Patrick Leusch is Head of European Affairs at Deutsche Welle (DW), where he leads EU engagement, secures European funding, and represents DW’s interests with the European Commiss

Patrycja Maciejewicz is a senior financial and business analyst at Polityka Insight, having previously worked at Gazeta Wyborcza for over two decades, most recently as deputy head

Ruwaida Kamal Amer is a Gaza-based journalist, producer and director. A former science teacher, she has worked as a freelance producer and director for international outlets includ

Selen Çatalyürekli (1987) is a documentarist and designer based in Istanbul, Türkiye. She holds a BA in Social and Political Sciences from Sabancı University and an MA in Indus

Sofia Theodosiadou is Assistant Professor of Media and Childhood at the School of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She has wor

Sokratis Moutidis is Editor in Chief of Chronos Kozanis Daily Newspaper in Western Macedonia, Greece. A journalist since 2000, he has been with Chronos since 2007, covering local a

Sotiris Sideris is an investigative data journalist, editor, lecturer and AI researcher based in Athens, specializing in cross-border investigations and data-driven accountability

Stavroula Poulimeni is a journalist living in Thessaloniki and working with the local cooperative media outlet Alterthess as a core member. She is dedicated to investigative journa

Sven Knobloch is a freelance TV journalist based in Leipzig, Germany. He works for German public broadcasters MDR and ARD as a contributor to major national news programmes Tagessc

Tiko Tsomaia is a professor of journalism and communication at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs in Tbilisi. Her career encompasses education, journalism, communications, re

 
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