Voices - European Festival of Journalism and Media Freedom

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Voices - European Festival of Journalism and Media Freedom

European Festival of Journalism and Media Freedom

More than a festival, a movement toward an informed society
Co-funded by the 🇪🇺
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Voices, the European Festival of Journalism and Media Freedom, aims at bringing citizens, journalists, and media professionals together to explore crucial themes shaping our relationship with information and media. The first edition kicks off in Florence with a lineup of international speakers and a three-day programme of talks, debates, movie screenings, workshops, exhibitions, and networking opportunities. The festival is an itinerant initiative, moving across different European cities to engage different communities. The next edition is set to take place in Zagreb in February 2025. Voices is the result of a collaboration among seven European partners, led by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom at the European University Institute. The consortium includes the European Federation of Journalists, the European Broadcasting Union, EAVI – Media Literacy for Citizens, Journalisme et Citoyenneté, Lie Detectors and Savoir Devenir. It is a project co-financed by the European Union.

19/03/2026

One week ago, we concluded the third edition of Voices, which took place in Florence. Over 2,000 participants walked the halls of the Fondazione Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino to attend 60 sessions featuring more than 90 speakers.

Didn’t manage to attend this edition? Don’t worry — we recorded the main sessions, and you can rewatch them here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dGreMZu3

To offer additional insight into the festival’s themes, we also produced a four-episode podcast, 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, featuring Erik Jones, Basma Mostafa, Barbara Serra, and Nina Krapic. Find the episodes here 👉 https://lnkd.in/d2fG4Fdg

Stay tuned to our channels, as we will be sharing more materials ahead of the next edition in Thessaloniki, from 26 to 28 November 2026.

13/03/2026

If you could recap this festival in a news headline, what would it be?

12/03/2026

This third edition of Voices comes to an end, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦.

In a moment marked by growing polarisation, disinformation, and pressure on independent media, one message resonated throughout the festival:

𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲; protecting journalists means safeguarding democracy.
Over the past three days, we spoke about journalist safety and impunity, media freedom and regulation, disinformation, artificial intelligence, and the algorithmic shaping of public debate.

But beyond the sessions and workshops, Voices was above all about listening to the people behind the headlines.

📍 At the centre of every discussion there were real stories, real experiences, and real people who continue to defend the right to report, to question power, and to inform the public, often under difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances.
Spaces like Voices matter because they bring people together, across professions, countries, and perspectives, to reflect, challenge, and collaborate on the future of media freedom in Europe.

🎥 If you would like to revisit some of the sessions, you can watch the livestream playlist here 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNMXavk1gVs&list=PLVtwbEsYJy55SMr0VnfL6L3DEIXWEUGsk

🎧 You can also listen to '𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴', a live podcast series🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO2-TdAvRgQ&list=PLVtwbEsYJy54FpTiNJ_L30vNv8aMY7tXh&index=6

Until the next edition, one idea remains at the heart of Voices:
𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙.

12/03/2026

Informazione e propaganda: chi controlla il racconto del mondo?

Durante l'ultima sessione di Voices, Barbara Serra, Peter Gomez e
Tomaso Montanari hanno discusso, moderati da Alessandro Cisilin di come il panorama dell'informazione, passato, presente e futuro.

Barbara Serra ha sottolineato come negli ultimi anni sia cambiato radicalmente il modo in cui definiamo il giornalismo. Oggi molte più persone producono informazione, spesso al di fuori delle redazioni tradizionali, rendendo più difficile distinguere tra informazione, propaganda e disinformazione. Se un tempo alcune voci venivano accusate di propaganda, oggi verrebbero forse etichettate come “fake news”. In un ecosistema mediatico sempre più affollato, uno dei rischi principali è quello di perdere la verità in un mare di contenuti.

Tomaso Montanari ha invece evidenziato come, soprattutto nei momenti di crisi internazionale, si possano creare narrazioni dominanti a cui media e mondo accademico tendono ad allinearsi. Secondo Montanari, la crescente precarietà del lavoro nel giornalismo e nella ricerca rende più difficile sviluppare letture critiche e indipendenti della realtà. Per questo, ha ricordato, gli intellettuali non possono lasciare “il monopolio della verità a chi ha già il monopolio della forza”.

Peter Gomez ha riflettuto sulle trasformazioni del sistema mediatico italiano negli ultimi decenni: la concentrazione dei grandi gruppi editoriali e il rapporto tra informazione e interessi economici. Ha però ribadito che l’imparzialità nel giornalismo è ancora possibile, se intesa come metodo e tecnica professionale. Il cuore del giornalismo, ha detto, resta quello di rivelare qualcosa che il potere preferirebbe non fosse noto.

Nel dibattito è emersa anche una domanda cruciale per il futuro: chi sopravviverà all’intelligenza artificiale nel mondo dell’informazione? La risposta, secondo Serra, potrebbe stare nel giornalismo che non può essere automatizzato: l’inchiesta, il reportage sul campo, il lavoro diretto con le fonti.

Una discussione che ha mostrato quanto il rapporto tra informazione, potere e democrazia sia oggi più complesso — e più decisivo — che mai.

04/03/2026

🎤 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲

It's one of the voices that truly needs no introduction.

A leading expert on human rights and the Middle East, she has served since May 2022 as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.

She is used to being in the hot seat, constantly challenged by diplomats. But in this fast-paced dialogue, moderated by Francesca Gnetti (Internazionale), she will face a different counterpart: the new generation of journalists.

👉 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 | 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲
📅 Wednesday 11 March
⏰ 18.00-19.00
🎟️ Free entry — reserve your spot here: https://www.eventbrite.it/e/intervista-con-francesca-albanese-tickets-1983604552614?aff=oddtdtcreator

03/03/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁? 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 😎

The entrance and attendance of all the sessions of 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺, is completely free!

Join us, as we bring citizens, journalists, and media professionals in conversation with each other through workshops, panels, interactive sessions, and much more.

🎟️ Grab you ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.it/e/voices-european-festival-of-journalism-and-media-freedom-tickets-1977885292152

03/03/2026

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁à 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗶𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗶 | 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗶𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗶

It was once common to see these words written on yellow banners across cities all over Italy. Although many of the banners have slowly disappeared, the search for truth continues.

𝗚𝗶𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗶 – 𝗧𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼 is the first documentary to reconstruct the judicial truth behind the kidnapping, torture, and murder of the Italian researcher, whose body was discovered outside Cairo on 3 February 2016. For the first time, Giulio’s story is told through the voices of his parents, Claudio Regeni and Paola Deffendi.

The screening, in Italian with English subtitles, will be followed by a talk with the Regeni family’s lawyer, Alessandra Ballerini, and Emanuele Cava, author and creative director of the documentary, who will join online.

🎥 Giulio Regeni – Tutto il male del Mondo
📅 Thursday, 12 March
⏰ 09:30–12:00
🔗 Free tickets: https://lnkd.in/de4PEEkW

𝘐𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯.

26/02/2026

“𝘐𝘯 𝘶𝘯'𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪 𝘯𝘶𝘰𝘷𝘪 𝘮𝘦𝘻𝘻𝘪 𝘥𝘪 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘪ù 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘱𝘪𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪, 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘷𝘶𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵à 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘰 𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦."

- Giovanni Melogli, Coordinatore di Voices presso European University Institute

Si è tenuta oggi a Roma, presso la sede del Consiglio Nazionale dell’Ordine dei Giornalisti, la conferenza stampa di lancio di Voices. In mattinata sono intervenuti i rappresentanti delle principali organizzazioni che guidano il progetto.

elisabetta cosci, (Ordine dei Giornalisti) ha sottolineato l'importanza dell'evento per la categoria, Giovanni Melogli ha spiegato la genesi e la visione del festival, Sofia Verza (Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) ha illustrato le novità del programma e dei premi per giornalisti emergenti, infine Serena Scorzoni (RAI, Radio Televisione Italiana) ha posto l'accento sul ruolo del servizio pubblico e sulle sfide future.

Curiosi di sapere i dettagli del programma? 👉 https://voicesfestival.eu/

24/02/2026

🎤 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨? 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠?

It’s Luca Sofri — founder and editor of Il Post, one of Italy’s most influential and widely read online newspapers. A leading voice in the national media landscape, Sofri has shaped the public debate on journalism, trust, and information for over a decade.

At Voices 2026, Luca Sofri will take one of the hot seats, in a high-stakes debate on paywalled news versus journalism as a publicly funded good. Does putting news behind a paywall turn reliable information into a luxury? Or is it the only way to protect high-quality journalism in the digital age?

And yes, he will be answering your questions live.

👉 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬? 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦

📅 Wednesday 11 March

⏰ 14:30 – 16.00

🔗 Register on: https://voicesfestival.eu/

24/02/2026

“𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴”

That’s what people used to say to spot AI-generated content. But things have become a little more complicated, with AI reshaping everything, including how reality is reported through news production and news consumption. Newsrooms everywhere are now experimenting with how to integrate artificial intelligence into their workflows, yet discussions too often remain stuck at the abstract level of whether AI is “good” or “bad” for journalism.

In this Voices 2026 session, participants will become players and, through a live voting game, explore practical ways to use AI effectively in newsrooms.

👉 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭. 𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦
📅 Wednesday, 11 March 2026
⏰ 12:00–13:30
🎤 Juan Carlos Lopez Calvet (Schibsted), Evann Hislers (Freelancer), Veronica DeVore (SWI swissinfo.ch), Priscilla Ruggiero (Il Foglio Quotidiano).
🔗 https://lnkd.in/dqCzbxxz

20/02/2026

[𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸]

'𝐓𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐢 “𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞”?'

Parla Vera Gheno — sociolinguista, autrice e ricercatrice, voce autorevole sul linguaggio, la comunicazione digitale e le questioni di genere. Attraverso il suo lavoro, Gheno ha costantemente messo in discussione le narrazioni dominanti su diversità, equità e inclusione, soprattutto in un contesto culturale — quello italiano — che spesso resiste a queste conversazioni.

A Voices 2026, Vera Gheno salirà sul palco per porre una domanda solo apparentemente semplice: 𝐜𝐡𝐢 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐚 è “𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞”? Nel suo monologo, smonterà l’idea di normalità, rivelandola come arbitraria, fluida e spesso utilizzata come strumento di esclusione e discriminazione.

🎤 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐆𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐧 '𝐂𝐡𝐢 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐚 è “𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞”?'
📅 Mercoledì 11 marzo
⏰ 20:30 – 22:00
🔗 Registrati per questa sessione: https://lnkd.in/dx82zyBg

'𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 “𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥”?'

Is Vera Gheno speaking— sociolinguist, author, and researcher, and authoritative voice on language, digital communication, and gender. Through her work, Gheno has consistently challenged dominant narratives on diversity, equity, and inclusion, especially within a cultural context – the Italian one – that often resists these conversations.

At Voices 2026, Vera Gheno will take the stage to ask a deceptively simple question: 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 “𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥”? In her monologue, she will dismantle the idea of normality, exposing it as arbitrary, fluid, and frequently used as a tool of exclusion and discrimination.

🎤 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐆𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐧 '𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 "𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥"?'
📅 Wednesday 11 March
⏰ 20:30 – 22:00
🔗 Register for this session: https://lnkd.in/dx82zyBg

13/02/2026

📍 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘄𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸! 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀.

In 2024, Voices filled the spaces of La Leopolda in Florence, and now, after a stop in Zagreb, we are back with the 2026 edition at the Fondazione Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Here, from 10 to 12 of March we will create a meeting ground for journalists, media professionals, students, and curious people.

Discover this year's programme, and explore all the sessions, workshops, debates and interactive activities we have planned
👉 https://lnkd.in/dWn2-RNa

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