Ludovica Jona Lasinio

Ludovica Jona Lasinio is an investigative journalist with a special interest in video and multimedia projects. She is currently a video-maker at La7 national tv channel and regular contributor at Il Fatto Quotidiano online newspaper. She has been team leader in various cross border investigations funded by #IJ4EU, Journalismfund, and European Journalism Centre, covering surveillance, migration, pharmaceutical sector and environmental issues. Her work appeared on The Intercept, Mediapart, FQ Millennium, L’Espresso, and Report Rai3 among others.

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Nikolaus von Peter

Nikolaus von Peter is an official of the European Union, working currently in the Representation of the European Commission in Berlin where he is following digital policy, fundamental rights, the rule of law and other policies. Mr von Peter studied law and briefly worked as a lawyer and in the German administration before joining the Commission’s treasury department. Before moving to Berlin, he worked in the private office of the European Commissioner for mobility and transport.

Twitter: @emandova

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Ekaterina Mandova

Ekaterina Mandova has been supporting independent public-interest journalism in Europe for two years as part of her role in Civitates. Before joining Civitates, Ekaterina worked for different organisations on topics related to social and environmental issues. Throughout the years, she has been involved in different journalistic projects and initiatives around Europe. As a journalist, she has worked for private and community media outlets in Bulgaria and Austria.

Twitter: @emandova

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IJ4EU IMPACT AWARD JURY 2022

Attila Mong

Jury Chair

Attila Mong is a Hungarian freelance journalist based in Berlin. He works as the Europe representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Mong is also an innovation consultant for the DW Akademie and a board member for Hungarian investigative journalism outlet, Átlátszó. He was John S. Knight Journalism fellow (2013) and Hoover Institution research fellow (2011) at Stanford University. He is the author of several books and recipient of the 2004 Pulitzer Memorial Prize for Best Investigative Journalism and the 2003 Soma Investigative Journalism Prize.
@attilamong


Members

Silvia Chocarro
Silvia Chocarro

Silvia Chocarro is the Head of Protection at ARTICLE 19, a global organisation promoting freedom of expression worldwide. She sits on the IFEX Council and is a member of the Centre for Freedom of Media, University of Sheffield. In her 20-year career, she has worked for media development groups and intergovernmental organisations as well as a journalist for media outlets. She holds a PhD in Journalism from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain; her dissertation focused on the role of the UN in journalists’ safety. She is the author of several reports on the safety of journalists and gender and media.
@silviachocarro


Boryana Dzhambazova
Boryana Dzhambazova

Boryana Dzhambazova is a freelance journalist, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. She has been reporting on a wide range of topics — from economic and political developments to social affairs and human rights issues. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Economist, and Politico Europe, among others.
@BoryanaDz


Can Dündar
Can Dündar

Can Dündar has been working as a journalist for the last 42 years, for several newspapers and magazines. He produced many TV documentaries focusing particularly on modern Turkish history and cultural anthropology. He worked as an anchorman for several news channels. He stepped down from his post as the editor in chief of the daily Cumhuriyet in August 2016, after he was imprisoned due to his story on the Turkish Intelligence Service’s involvement in the Syrian war. He was sentenced in absentia to 27 years in jail in December 2020. He found #ÖZGÜRÜZRadio (WeAreFree) in Berlin in 2016. He has been a columnist for Die Zeit since August 2016. He has made documentaries for ARTE, ZDF, DW, and written more than 40 books, some of which were published German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Albanian, and Chinese.
@candundaradasi


Julia Vernersson
Julia Vernersson

Julia Vernersson is Managing Director of Hostwriter, an award-winning global network that helps journalists collaborate across borders. She has a background in international organisations working with media, freedom of speech, and activism and founded the organisation Kulturlabor Trial & Error. In 2021 Hostwriter launched the feminist cross-border newsroom UnbiastheNews.org, to support journalists experiencing structural barriers in the field, working towards a more equitable and inclusive world of journalism.
@_headquarters

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Agenda | UNCOVERED CONFERENCE 2022

Day Moderators: Lutz Kinkel (ECPMF) and Neus Vidal (ECPMF)

MARCH, 31 | 13:00-18:30

12:30 – 13:00 Registration


13:00 – 13:20 Opening Ceremony | Conference Hall


13:20
Keynote Speech


13:50 – 14:40
Looking East: Investigating the EU’s “Near Abroad” | Conference Hall

Long before Russia invaded Ukraine, investigative journalists had countries on the EU’s eastern flank in their sights. IJ4EU grantees discuss cross-border projects linked to Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. 


13:50 – 14:50
Workshop: New Tools for Fact Checking | Press Room

Interactive workshop with the Lie Detectors and WeVerify: A short presentation about the work of Lie Detectors, followed by a series of practical fact-checking exercises, and a demonstration on how teams of cross-border investigative journalist can use WeVerify’s toolkit to collaborate and provide evidence to back up their stories.


14:40 – 15:10 Coffee Break


15:10 – 16:00
Countering SLAPPs: How to Protect Journalists? | Conference Hall

In this panel, the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) to target and restrict journalists and media workers across Europe will be discussed in line with the latest developments in the legislative process to protect media freedom.  


15:10-16:00
IJ4EU Showcase: Into the Shadows | Press Room

From dark corners of the web to unlawful mass surveillance, IJ4EU grantees discuss cross-border crime.


16:10-17:00
New Donor Strategies: How to Fund Your Investigation? | Conference Hall

The world is changing and so are the ways of funding investigative cross-border journalism. ​This panel discusses the new trends and challenges in supporting journalism, including the use of both public and philanthropic money. 


16:10-17:00
IJ4EU Showcase: Chasing Environmental Issues | Press Room

Environmental issues do not stop at borders; IJ4EU grantees showcase their investigations. 


17:00-17:30 Break: Can We Tempt You to a Glass of Prosecco? 


17:30-18:30
IJ4EU Award Ceremony | Conference Hall

The winners of this year’s Impact award will be announced. Ten cross-border investigations have been shortlisted for the second IJ4EU Impact Award. An independent jury chaired by Attila Mong has chosen three winners. Each will receive €5,000 for further investigations. 


APRIL, 1 | 09:45-13:15

09:15-09:30
Registration


09:30- 09:40
Opening Remarks

Věra Jourová – Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency will talk about how the European Media Freedom Act is a pillar of freedom and protection for investigative journalism. 


09:45 – 10:40
Dangerous Journeys: The Dark Side of EU Migration Policy | Conference Hall

Underage migrants convicted of human trafficking. Families unable to identify loved ones who perished en route to Europe. Cross-border tragedies fuelled by private and public funds. IJ4EU grantees look at failures of EU migration and asylum policy.


09:45 – 10:40
Workshop: Under Pressure but Resilient | Press Room

This workshop focuses on ways to take care of your and your colleagues’ mental health while working on your investigations; helping you differentiate between different types of trauma, understand strategies for resilience, and recognise the impact of trauma for you and your team.


10:50 – 11:40
Surveillance: Is Pegasus the Tip of the Iceberg? | Conference Hall

Who is targeting journalists with surveillance and what does it mean for investigative journalism?  


10:50 – 11:40
IJ4EU Showcase: Following the COVID Data  | Press Room

Three IJ4EU cross-border investigative teams present projects unlocking hidden stories behind the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and beyond.


11:40 – 12:10 Coffee Break


12:10 – 13:00
Duty of care: Who’s Responsible for Protecting Freelancers? | Conference Hall

Freelance journalists are the least protected group in the field of media workers. This panel discusses obstacles encountered especially by freelancers in Europe and potential solutions to their problems.

13:00 – 13:15
Concluding Remarks

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IJ4EU Impact award – Shortlist

Ten cross-border investigations have been shortlisted for the second IJ4EU Impact Award, celebrating excellence in collaborative journalism in Europe.

An independent jury chaired by Attila Mong, a Hungarian freelance journalist based in Berlin, will choose three winners, which will be announced on 31 March 2022. Each will receive €5,000.

The winners will take centre stage at the award ceremony during IJ4EU UNCOVERED, a conference organised by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), a partner in the IJ4EU fund.

Register here to attend the conference.

Below are the 10 shortlisted entries, in alphabetical order and selected from a pool of nominations by independent evaluators assembled by ECPMF.


The Abortion Pill Reversal Project

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Abortion Pill Reversal Project
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Abortion Pill Reversal Project

Doctors worldwide offer treatment to ‘reverse’ abortions: This investigation revealed how doctors on 4 continents – with support from US Christian activists – are providing women with “dangerous” and unproven treatments that claim to reverse medical abortions.


Cities for Rent

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Cities for Rent
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Cities for Rent

Cities for Rent is a cross-border collaborative investigation into corporate landlords: companies that own and make money by renting out tens of thousands of homes across European cities.


Frontex Files

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Frontex Files
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Frontex Files

The Frontex Files reveals the influence of private companies on the EU’s militarised borders, exposing the ties between Frontex and the defence and security industry. 


Frontex Complicit in Pushbacks

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Frontex Complicit in Pushbacks
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Frontex Complicit in Pushbacks

An investigation by Lighthouse Reports, Bellingcat, Der Spiegel, ARD, and Asahi TV revealed the full extent of the role of Frontex – the EU Coastal and Border agency – in maritime pushbacks as part of a concerted operation to reduce the number of land and sea arrivals of asylum seekers.


Hunting Lukashenko’s Wallets

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Hunting Lukashenko’s Wallets
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Hunting Lukashenko’s Wallets

An investigation uncovering schemes through which Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko allows his tycoons to collect supernormal profits at the expense of the state, also revealing offshore companies that these tycoons used to syphon money out of the country.


The Logbook of Moria

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Logbook of Moria
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Logbook of Moria

In Europe’s most notorious refugee camp, a logbook was found. Written by workers there to protect unaccompanied minors, its pages reveal the horrific reality that the most vulnerable group of asylum seekers in Europe was left to endure.


Money to Burn

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Money to Burn
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Money to Burn

An investigation to map the international trade in woody biomass as a renewable fuel, revealing how Europe’s renewable energy policies are accelerating clear-cutting in protected natural areas.


The Passport Papers

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Passport Papers
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Passport Papers

An investigation into the sale of citizenship as a legalised transaction, who is buying Maltese passports, and how a points-scoring system is used to circumvent the need for physical residency.


The Pegasus Project

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Pegasus Project
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – The Pegasus Project

A collaborative investigation into the global misuse of the Pegasus spyware against civil society around the world. The Forbidden Stories consortium and Amnesty International had access to records of more than 50,000 phone numbers selected by NSO clients.


Radicals with Reach

IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Radicals with reach
IJ4EU Impact award nominee – Radicals with reach

The cross-border investigation revealed a growing network of connections and money transfers between ultra-conservative organisations in Central Europe, which expanded their political and public influence in the region.

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ATTILA MONG: THE CHAIR OF 2022 IJ4EU IMPACT AWARD JURY

We are delighted to announce Attila Mong as jury chair of the 2022 IJ4EU Impact Award.

Attila is a Hungarian freelance journalist based in Berlin. Working as the Europe representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Mong is also an innovation consultant for the DW Akademie and a board member for Hungarian investigative journalism outlet, Átlátszó. He was John S. Knight Journalism fellow (2013) and Hoover Institution research fellow (2011) at Stanford University. He is the author of several books and recipient of the 2004 Pulitzer Memorial Prize for Best Investigative Journalism and the 2003 Soma Investigative Journalism Prize.

The 2022 IJ4EU Impact Award will take place on 31 March 2022, the first day of the UNCOVERED Conference 2022, and celebrate the best investigative journalism carried out by three cross-border teams in the EU.

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IJ4EU Podcast: An EU haven for white-collar crime

Journalists from Oštro, a centre for investigative reporting in the Adriatic region, discuss the challenges of exposing white-collar crime in Slovenia and Croatia — two countries on the EU’s southeast flank where the space for independent media is shrinking.

Host Timothy Large speaks with leading journalists behind  A Small Haven for White-Collar Crime, an investigation supported by the IJ4EU fund for cross-border investigative journalism.

Drawing on documents from The Pandora Papers, the biggest leak of offshore financial data in history, the investigation exposes tax evasion, fraud and the hiding of assets in offshore jurisdictions.

The project also brought home the difficulties of conducting investigative work in Slovenia and Croatia, countries with much in common — including a deteriorating landscape for media freedom.

Listen on:

Credits:

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IJ4EU Podcast: The making of ‘The Vapour Trail’

The latest episode of the IJ4EU Podcast takes a behind-the-scenes look at The Vapour Trail, a cross-border investigation into secret lobbying by the tobacco industry.

This cross-border collaboration between French daily Le Monde and Dutch reporters collective The Investigative Desk exposes a secret alliance between Big Tobacco and networks of U.S. oil tycoons to thwart regulations on e-cigarettes and promote laissez-faire policies in Europe.

Supported by the Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU) fund, the investigation exposes the work of fake consumer groups funded by the tobacco industry to promote vaping under the guise of defending individual freedom.

Timothy Large of the International Press Institute sits down with investigative journalists Ties Keyzer and Stéphane Horel to discuss how US oil billionaires and Big Tobacco are dusting off an old battle tactic to bring libertarianism to the heart of Europe.

Listen on:

Credits:

  • Host: Timothy Large, IJ4EU programme manager at the International Press Institute
  • Guests: Ties Keyzer, co-founder of the Investigative Desk, and Stéphane Horel, a specialist in corporate lobbying, conflicts of interest and science manipulation at Le Monde
  • Editor and Producer: Timothy Large

Shipping and climate: The making of ‘Black Trail

The IJ4EU fund has launched a podcast dedicated to cross-border investigative journalism.

Listen to the stories behind IJ4EU-funded investigations, from the journalists who worked on them: how they built cross-border teams to pursue their topics, carried out investigations, overcame obstacles and created impact. 

In our first episode, we look back at Black Trail, an agenda-setting investigation into the relationship between two truly cross border topics: shipping and climate change.

From the Arctic Circle’s melting ice caps to Lisbon’s mega port, the team focused on how the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, is failing to regulate ships’ carbon emissions.

The documentary also shows how shipping continues to burn the dirtiest of all transport fuels and why ship emissions are responsible for more than 50,000 deaths a year in European port cities.

Listen on:

Credits:

  • Host: Barney Weston, ECPMF event manager
  • Guests: Micael Pereira, Nikolas Leontopoulos, Margot Gibbs 
  • Executive Producers: ECPMFIPIEJC
  • Editor: Barney Weston
  • Sound Engineer & Mixing: Gerd Marczinzik
  • Content Producer: Barney Weston
  • Digital Producer: Barney Weston, Javier Luque Martinez