European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

Stevan is a Serbian reporter, specialising in the investigation of organised crime, corruption, privatisation deals and money laundering. He is the Editor-in-Chief of KRIK and the Regional Editor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) for the Balkans, prior to which he was the founding editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia. The author of “Šarić”, a book which dissects the role of the Balkan mafia in international cocaine smuggling, Steven also teaches journalists how to collect and analyse business data and property records. He has received national and international recognition for his journalistic work, most notably as the recipient of the Knight International Journalism Award, the CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism and the Serbian National Award for Investigative Reporting. He was also a member of the award-winning OCCRP investigative team that uncovered links of the former Serbian government to organised crime.

An Austrian journalist and author, Melisa founded @die_chefredaktion, an Instagram-based medium that produces diverse journalism by and for young people. Recognising that traditional media is too far removed from teenagers and young people, the account offers younger generations a new type of interactive journalism and has enjoyed tremendous success. As Editor-in-Chief, she leads a young editorial team in the production and publication of journalistic contributions and video reports on social and political topics. Melisa also hosts the Ö1 Sprechstunde podcast and writes two weekly columns for Falter and taz magazines on education policy and equal opportunities. Her report, “Generation haram – why schools have to learn to give everyone a voice”, on discrimination and restrictive culture in Austrian schools for Biber magazine is based on two years of research and first-hand experience as a former teacher. Generating significant public interest, the report went on to win Story of the Year at the Austrian Journalism Days.

Marie is a Paris-based journalist and the Dean of the Sciences Po Journalism School. She has spent the past 15 years in international newsrooms, including Bloomberg and Reuters, digging into how technology has changed the economy, politics and culture across Europe. She has written extensively about innovation policies in the EU, in the face of US and Chinese tech giants. Passionate about the crucial role that information plays for society, citizens and businesses, she is responsible for Sciences Po’s strategy in training future journalists who will go the extra mile to understand the world and decode it. Marie is also a Senior Reporter and Editorial and Business Strategist at Sifted, a new digital media venture backed by The Financial Times and focused on European start-ups.

Johny is a writer, photographer and broadcaster, known for his work in exploring African-European identities. He is the curator of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) award-winning Afropean.com, and the author of “Afropean: Notes From Black Europe”. He currently co-hosts the ‘Open Book’ literature programme for BBC Radio 4 and is the creator of a forthcoming Afropean podcast funded by the National Geographical Society. Johny has contributed words and images for The Guardian, The New Statesman, The New York Times and CondéNast Traveller, and in recognition of his work, has received the Jhalak Prize, the Bread & Roses Award for Radical Publishing, the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding and the European Essay Prize. He is the recipient of the inaugural Ampersand/Photoworks Fellowship and will be exhibiting a new body of photographic work called ‘Home is Not a Place’ in a touring exhibition beginning in 2022.

Fatma is a Belgian journalist and news anchor, specialising in justice and criminal law. She has worked at VRT for over a decade and currently hosts the “Het Journaal” evening news programme on the Flemish broadcaster’s main channel, One. In the documentary series, “De Cel Vermiste Personen” (“The Missing Persons Cell”), Fatma dives into the work of the federal police unit that investigates disappearances. Her television programme, “Mij overkomt het niet” (“It does not happen to me”), explores guilt and grief through a series of interviews with people that have unintentionally caused a deadly accident. Fatma also speaks with the families, judges, prosecutors and social workers involved in the tragic events. Throughout its first season, the programme attracted almost 900,000 viewers each week. A former newsreader at Studio Brussel and Radio 1, Fatma began her professional career as an editor at Reyers Laat, a late-night talk show on Canvas, a VRT channel.