Eastern Partnership Countries
Antonina Andriichuk, Ukraine
At present, Antonina writes articles as a freelance author for War Stories from Ukraine, The Ukrainians, the online magazine TEDxKyiv, and the media project Ukrainer. Before that, she worked at the hyperlocal media network Rayon.in.ua. Antonina received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and social communications from Lesia Ukrainka Eastern European National University in 2020 and her master’s degree in journalism from Ukrainian Catholic University in 2022. She has also participated in several study programs, including the School of Universal Editors from the Nakypilo Media Group with the support of the Deutsche Welle Akademie, XV International Summer School of Media Law, and the international autumn storytelling school Our Future. Antonina speaks Ukrainian, English, and Polish.
Carolina Buimestru, Moldova
Carolina currently manages the science magazine Orchiculture, Viticulture and Winemaking and is also a radio show host at Eco FM. In the past, she was a journalist at Ecopresa.md and worked as a videographer for the Youth Media Center. Before beginning her career in journalism, Carolina was a history teacher. In 2020, Carolina completed her education in journalism at the School of Advanced Studies in Journalism. She also took part in the Moldox Documentary Film Workshop and served as a director and camerawoman for a short documentary about village life. Her other projects include a short film about powerlifting master Maria Scripchenko. Carolina speaks Romanian, Russian, English, French, and beginner-level Italian.
Olya Ivleva, Ukraine
Olya currently works as a freelancer for Bihus.info and cooperates with Sud reporter, focusing on courtproceedings. In the past, she worked for several media outlets in Odessa, including Why, Lotsiak, Pushkinske, Information Service, Society Odessa, and HB. She also interned at the Вihus.info project for regional journalists who analyze the finances of political parties. She took part in the Slidstvo.Info “Evil Identification School” project, which records war crimes, giving her experience using OSINT technologies. Olya earned her bachelor’s degree in teaching at Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University in 2013. She has also attended number of training sessions, such as the Donbas Media Forum, Journalism Exchange Program, and the School of Investigators’ "Corruption under the Microscope," where she learned to work with open-source data and analytics, as well as to find topics for investigations. Olya speaks Ukrainian and English.
Yulia Ralko, Belarus
At present, Yuliya is a freelancer cooperating with independent media and NGOs covering social life, political repression, and military aggression. During her studies, Yuliya worked for the KultCenter Korpus event center as a production manager. She believes that everyone has the right to receive objective information about events in all spheres of life, and cherishes honesty and courage, which she considers essential values. Yuliya graduated in 2021 from the Belarusian Human Rights School’s Faculty of Screen Arts, Documentary and TV Directing. Yuliya speaks Belarusian, English, French, and Russian.
Mariam Takidze, Georgia
Until the end of 2022, Mariam worked as a reporter and a presenter for the public broadcaster Adjara TV and Radio. She presented the weekly TV show “#Hashtag,” which covers social issues ranging from human rights to education, youth life, gender equality and other important occurrences in Georgia or worldwide. She is the winner of the #MediaEquality Award from WECF Georgia and the European Union in Georgia in the "Best Regional Media Product" category, for strengthening women's rights and ethical representation. Mariam holds a master's degree in gender studies and a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. She also attended investigative journalism training organized by IFACT and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom South Caucasus, where she honed her skills in gathering open-source data, audiovisual journalism, interviewing, and more. Mariam speaks Georgian, English, and Russian.
Western Balkans Countries
Alem Bajramovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alem is currently a youth correspondent for the Balkan Diskurs, a project of the Post-Conflict Research Center, as well as a correspondent for BIRN reporting on missing people and war crimes. In the past, he worked as a volunteer correspondent and edited a youth-related column for the local Goražde newspaper, Glas Gorazda. He has also collaborated with the Balkan Investigative Research Network (BIRN), Deutsche Welle, the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), and other organizations. Since he was a teenager, Alem has pursued interests including photography, film production, screenwriting, politics, peace-building, and non-violent conflict resolution, participating in a variety of workshops and volunteer activities around these topics. Alem obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science, international relations, and diplomacy in 2020 from the University of Sarajevo. He is currently completing his master’s degree in security and peace studies at the University of Sarajevo. Alem speaks Bosnian and English.
Albina Kastrati, Kosovo
In 2022, Albina worked for Gazeta 10 where she researched, wrote, edited, and published news articles. In 2021, she completed an internship at Deutsche Welle, where she was part of the Balkan Booster 2021 project with the theme "Finding Solutions,” searching for sources, planning interviews, and writing, shooting, and editing stories. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Pristina. Albina speaks Albanian and English.
Nelli Yeghiazaryan, Armenia
In 2022, Nelli began journalism internships at Urbanista and RFE/RL's Armenian Service. Later in the same year she worked as a data communication fellow for ForSet NGO. Prior to that, she was a content creator for Busticks Applications and head of the PR and Communications Committee of the United Youth Nation. Nelli received her bachelor’s degree in Armenian language and literature in 2018 from Armenian State Pedagogical University. Nelli spent a year with the Hetq Media Factory NGO completing a course in investigative journalism. She has also attended investigative journalism training by the Media Initiative Center. Nelli speaks Armenian, English, Russian, and beginner-level Spanish.