Speakers: 
Elida Zylbeari

Elida Zylbeari is a project coordinator at Metamorphosis Foundation in North Macedonia with broad experience in planning and implementing project activities related to freedom of speech and strengthening media. She is the editor of news contents, mentoring journalists and fact-checkers. Zylbeari is a certified trainer for media literacy and countering disinformation. Since 2012, she has been the editor in chief of the Albanian news portal Portalb, and since 2020, she has been the editor in chief of the Albanian version of the fact-checking platform Truthmeter. She has been a panelist at various national and international conferences on issues concerning freedom of speech and media, media literacy, digital and investigative journalism, good governance, and transparency.

Özen Baş

Özen Baş is an Assistant Professor of New Media and the Vice Dean of the School of Communication at Kadir Has University, Istanbul. Baş studies political communication: cognitive and participatory effects of emerging media use on different socio-demographic groups. Her work focuses on the content and use of media messages to inform citizens and political participation. Her research has been published in journals such as New Media and Society and Communication Research. She teaches media and communication theories and research methodology courses at the graduate level. 

Sally Hammoud

Dr. Sally Hammoud is an expert in artificial intelligence in communication and media, working with non-governmental organizations, governmental institutions, and private sector firms in Lebanon, MENA, the GCC, and Europe. Her research interests include artificial intelligence, language, and digital reputation in new media. She has worked as a communication and digital media consultant for a number of non-governmental organizations in Lebanon and the Middle East. Dr. Hammoud is an assistant professor at the American University of Beirut, the American University of Dubai, the Lebanese American University, and the Indian Institute of Management to bring academic knowledge into the industrial sector using creative ways. Hammoud is also a frequent keynote speaker at international events such as TedX Dornbirn in Austria, the Arab Youth Center in Dubai and the Digital Ecosystems Summit in Lebanon. She has been hosted on various media channels as an expert in artificial intelligence and has promoted social and political awareness through the media.

Moderator: 
Gülsin Harman

Gülsin Harman is an Istanbul-based journalist who frequently contributes to The New York Times and BBC Monitoring. Her career spans over 15 years of experience in reporting, editing, and investigating for international and Turkish news outlets. She researched the financial sustainability of digital independent media in Turkey for SembraMedia's Project Oasis and online harassment of journalists for the International Press Institute. She developed a prototype in the International Center for Journalists' News Innovation Lab to foster engagement and trust in journalism as part of an international team in 2022. Harman mentors early career journalists in product thinking and narrative journalism at NewsLabTurkey’s incubation programs. She launched the ‘Digital News Accelerator'’ master class series in 2022.  She hosted leading professionals in business models, audience strategies, and creative storytelling to share their experiences with a curated journalistic community. She was a consultant for OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Center for Media, Data and Society, as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists.