Unlock 2026

Arsen Kharatyan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Aliq Media, an Armenian–Georgian media platform. He previously served as a foreign policy adviser to Armenia’s Prime Minister during the first 100 days following the 2018 Velvet Revolution. Earlier in his career, he worked at Voice of America in Washington, D.C., and at Germany’s main development agency, GIZ, where he coordinated public participation in Armenia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. Kharatyan co-founded and led several pro-democracy movements, contributing significantly to civic activism in Armenia.

With the aim of preserving Moldovan culture and promoting its traditions, Nata founded the “K Lumea” NGO and the “IA Mania” festival, revitalising traditional crafts and bringing communities together. Moreover, she organises the “Wake Up Camp”, designed to inspire young people to social activism.

Iryna Domnenko is a Ukrainian trainer, facilitator, and developer of training programmes. She is also the co-host of the “Rakamakafo” podcast.

Iryna specialises in strategising, communication, education, and cultural decolonisation processes. She has worked with public and charitable organisations, from small local initiatives to international organisations,
as well as small and medium-sized local businesses. She has also worked with students and youth.

Yuliia Dukach, PhD, is the Head of Disinformation Investigations at OpenMinds.

She is an expert in disinformation research with over seven years of experience in data journalism and investigative work. Her work has received international recognition, having earned the Information is Beautiful Award and the Sigma Award. She specialises in the use of Python, R, and machine learning methods to conduct in-depth analyses and detect computational propaganda and online misinformation.

Artur Papyan is the co-founder of CyberHUB-AM, a digital security help desk supporting journalists and human rights defenders. His work focuses on cyber threats, information manipulation, data protection, and the circumvention of censorship. He also has extensive media experience and currently serves as President of the Yerevan Press Club. Previously, he spent over a decade at the Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as a journalist and multimedia editor, and he co-founded the Azatutyun TV channel. In addition, he has worked as a researcher, producer, presenter, and journalist across a range of media outlets and organisations.

Dr. Hanna Hopko is the co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) and Chair of the National Interests Advocacy Network (ANTS).

She served as Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament from 2014 to 2019. In 2014, she received the National Democratic Institute Democracy Award for promoting democracy in Ukraine. Having also served as a civic leader during the Euromaidan protests in 2013, she specialises in advocacy, Russian deimperialisation, and hybrid warfare. Hopko is a member of the Munich Security Conference Leaders and the International Advisory Council of the Warsaw Security Forum, and she leads advocacy efforts focusing on recognising Russia’s aggression as genocide.

Svetlana Siljanovska is a Senior Strategic Communications Consultant and former Adviser to the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, specialising in strategic communications in security affairs.

Her expertise includes countering information threats. During her time in the Prime Minister’s Office, she led national strategic communications efforts, fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and developing strategies based on assessments of the information environment in cooperation with international and regional partners. With years of experience in civil society prior to her service in government, she is deeply committed to leveraging strategic communication to strengthen democratic resilience.

Victoria Donu is a cultural leader, singer-songwriter, and founder of the Prague-based association Moldoveni.cz, which promotes cultural dialogue and civic engagement within the Moldovan diaspora.

She works as a Change and Engagement Partner at Novartis, focusing on organisational transformation and community building. She also leads international cultural initiatives with Sing for Hope Europe, using the arts to foster dialogue, resilience, and social impact.