Shared Seas, Shared Stories

Session 8
Wednesday, 14 October | 2.30–4.00 pm | Herrenhausen Palace, ground floor, seminar room 4
This session has been organized with the support of Journalismfund.

  • Anastasia Karadimitri, Inside Story, Greece
  • Franziska Grillmeier, freelance journalist, Germany
  • Barbara Celis, freelance journalist, Spain
  • Alec Saelens, Journalism Fund, Belgium [Moderator]

Shared Seas, Shared Stories brings together three cross-border journalism investigations into systemic pressures on marine ecosystems across Europe. Through case studies on eutrophication, seagrass loss, and wider Mediterranean pressures, the session explores how international teamwork strengthens evidence-based storytelling and advances science reporting. Speakers will share practical lessons on collaboration, sharing data, science translation, and audience engagement across borders.

Anastasia Karadimitri

Anastasia Karadimitri is an Athens-based journalist working for the independent investigative media outlets Inside Story and Journalism Initiative. Her work focuses on environmental journalism, with an emphasis on sustainability, environmental crises, and human-centered storytelling. She was part of the Sustainable Cyclades research team and has worked on documentary projects, oral history research, and cross-border environmental investigations, combining journalism with photography and documentary storytelling.

Her reporting on sustainability has been awarded the 3rd Prize at the European EIT Food Journalism Awards

Franziska Grillmeier

Franziska Grillmeier is a freelance journalist, reporting for German and international outlets including Süddeutsche Zeitung, Panorama Nyheter, and BBC. She produces award-nominated podcasts, published The Island (C.H.Beck, 2023), and reports on the consequences of forced displacement and the climate crisis in Europe.

Barbara Celis

Barbara Celis is a journalist with over twenty years‘ experience working internationally as a freelance correspondent in New York, London, Taipei and Rome. Her work combines narrative journalism with in-depth investigation.

Alec Saelens [Moderator]

Alec Saelens is the Journalism Fund’s project coordinator for the European Local Cross-Border grant programme. He focuses on fostering cross-border partnerships and developing sustainable models that support impactful, evidence-driven reporting.