The International Press Institute (IPI) team is excited to be participating in this year’s International Journalism Festival in the Italian city of Perugia! This year, as IPI is celebrating our milestone 75th anniversary, we’re looking forward to connecting with our members, partners and the global journalism community to forge a path for the future of press freedom and independent media.

Connect with IPI team at a number of panels, talks, and special events we’ll be hosting in Perugia.

1. Attend our panels 

Moderated by Timothy Large, head of IPI’s IJ4EU fund and IPI’s director of independent media programmes, the session will feature Frederik Obermaier (Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and co-founder of Paper trail media), Anuška Delić (founder of Oštro and OCCRP Balkans regional editor), and Laurent Richard (founder of Forbidden Stories).

Moderated by Scott Griffen, IPI’s executive director, we’ll bring together frontline defenders of press freedom: Olga Rudenko, a courageous, independent Ukrainian journalist; Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, a fearless Mexican investigative reporter in exile and past IPI World Press Freedom Hero; and Kadri Gürsel, a tireless advocate fighting for press freedom in Turkey. They will explore their lived experiences, lessons from the past, and strategies to protect public-interest journalism. 

Moderated by Ryan Powell, IPI’s head of innovation and media business, will discuss funding and partnership strategies that form local-global connections with equity. In conversation with Bilal Randeree, chief program officer at MDIF, Ariadne Papagapitos, impact director at Lighthouse Reports, and Shereen Daver, program director at climateXchange, they will elaborate on  approaches to supporting and producing journalism and the role of collaborations in unearthing deeper investigations, creating multi-level audiences, reaching the communities that are under-served and opportunities for diversifying revenue. 

2. Join our special events for members and partners

This year, as we celebrate our 75th anniversary, we invite our members and partners to a relaxed evening of discussion and networking. You will also have the opportunity to meet several team members and hear firsthand about our projects for this milestone year, including the upcoming IPI World Congress and Media Innovation Festival in Vienna (October 23-25). This is a closed event. If you are an IPI member or partner, please register in advance by contacting Gabriela Manuli, IPI Director of Special Projects (gmanuli@ipi.media) and Grace Linczer, IPI Membership and Engagement Manager (glinczer@ipi.media) 

As the environment for freedom of expression, media pluralism, and independent journalism becomes increasingly hostile — amid the scaling back of democratic freedoms and the collapse of traditional business models in Central and Eastern Europe — leading editors from the region are coming together to address the key issues and potential solutions. During the session, members of IPI’s Central and Eastern Europe Independent Media Network will discuss the challenges facing the media in Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria as well as joint advocacy efforts. They will also explore strategies for network building, collaboration, and bolstering resilience in times of adversity.

For those not able to join in person this year, catch the live streams on the IJF’s official YouTube channel and on-demand after the event.

To catch up with IPI’s team in Perugia, reach out to Gabriela Manuli, IPI Director of Special Projects (gmanuli@ipi.media) and Grace Linczer, IPI Membership and Engagement Manager (glinczer@ipi.media). We hope to see you there!