Aegean Summit • June 30 - July 1 2016 • Athens, GR
Media Connecting Mediterranean CitiesSarajevo • Athens • Rome • Istanbul • Beirut • Cairo • Tehran • Amman • Kuwait
Why we need an annual media forum connecting the Mediterranean
Outpost Magazine: Indie Media as Laboratories of Social Activism
Confirmed Speakers
![Gelareh Kiazand](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Gelareh-Kiazand.jpg)
Gelareh Kiazand
Filmmaker - Tehran, Iran
![Nick Malkoutzis](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/NickMalkoutzis.jpg)
Nick Malkoutzis
Editor, MacroPolis- Athens
![Maha ElNabawi](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Maha.ElNabawi.jpg)
Maha ElNabawi
Co-founder - Mada Masr
![Preethi Nallu](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/PreethiNallu.jpeg)
Preethi Nallu
Managing Editor, Refugeesdeeply
![Iason Athanasiadis](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Iason.Athanasiadis.jpg)
Iason Athanasiadis
Freelance Journalist - Middle East
![Alireza Jozi](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Alireza-Jozi.png)
Alireza Jozi
Media Entrepreneur - Tehran
![Ibrahim Nehme](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Ibrahim_Nehme.png)
Ibrahim Nehme
Publisher - Beirut, Lebanon
![Lina Attalah](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Lina.Attalah.jpg)
Lina Attalah
Editor, Mada Masr - Cairo
![Enrico De Angelis](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Enrico.De_.Angelis.jpg)
Enrico De Angelis
Syria Untold
![Sotiris Sideris](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Sotiris.Sideris.jpg)
Sotiris Sideris
Co-founder, Athens Live
![Chrysovalantis Stamelos](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Chrysovalantis-Stamelos.png)
Chrysovalantis Stamelos
Filmmaker- Izmir, Turkey
![Ayman Mhanna](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Ayman.Mhanna.jpg)
Ayman Mhanna
Director, GFMD - Brussels
![Yavuz Baydar](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/YavuzBaydar.jpg)
Yavuz Baydar
Journalist, Platform24 - Istanbul
![Doa Ali](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Doa.Ali_.jpg)
Doa Ali
Journalist, 7iber - Amman
![Spyros Ladeas](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Spyros_Ladeas2.png)
Spyros Ladeas
Director, Aegean Summit
![Marta Ottaviani](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Marta.Ottaviani.jpeg)
Marta Ottaviani
Journalist, La Stampa - Milan
![Teun Gautier](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Teun_Gautier.jpg)
Teun Gautier
Publisher, The Cooperation - Amst
![Chris Elliott](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Chris.Elliott.jpg)
Chris Elliott
Guardian, Ethical Journalism EJN
![Hamoud Almahmoud](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Hamoud.Almahmoud..jpg)
Hamoud Almahmoud
Arab Reporters Investigative Jour
![Thodoris Georgakopoulos](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Thodoris-Georgakopoulos.png)
Thodoris Georgakopoulos
Journalist - Athens
![Laura Silvia Battaglia](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Laura.Silvia.Battaglia.jpg)
Laura Silvia Battaglia
Freelance Journalist, Yemen-Italy
Opening the channels of communications in the Euro-Med & MENA region
Cross-border collaborations & progressive editorial narratives
An annual media meeting point between Europe & the Middle East
Discussing these themes on June30 – July1 in Athens
20 speakers in an interactive media forum with participants
AGENDA
DAY 1
8:00AM Registration & Coffee
9:00AM Defining Objectives of Aegean Summit 2016
- Spyros Ladeas, Director, Aegean Summit
What is the role of independent media?
9:20AM Moderator: Ayman Mhanna (GFMD Brussels)
- Access to information and fundamental freedoms and involvement of media organizations in this process
9:30AM Yavuz Baydar (Platform24 Istanbul)
- Independent media: pluralism, ownership, freedom of expression
9:40AM Thodoris Georgakopoulos (Dianeosis Athens)
- Philanthropy as a business model and media as a public good
9:50AM Ibrahim Nehme (Outpost Magazine Beirut)
- Indie media as laboratories of social activism
10:00AM-10:45AM Panel discussion and Q&A from participants
10:45AM Networking Coffee Break
Examples of progressive media narratives & audience development strategies
11:15AM Moderator Lina Attalah(Mada Masr Cairo)
- Editorial production as a site for progressive discourse between afflicting narratives and mediation for wider outreach
- Audience building for sustainability and to engage other communities outside of our conventional readership
11:25AM Doa Ali (7iber Amman)
- Audience building through editorial choices: Bringing the focus back to the story.
11:35AM Nick Malkoutzis (Macropolis Athens)
- Confronting the editorial narratives of speculation and inaccuracy
- How media narratives develop and evolve
11:45AM-12:45PM Panel Discussion, Examples and Q&A from participants
12:45PM LUNCH BREAK
What are new sustainable business models, funding models and how do we monetize?
2:00PM Teun Gautier (The Cooperation Amsterdam)
- The new journalistic business model evolves around freelance collectives
- Summaries from report 52 ways to monetize journalism
2:35PM Maha ElNabawi (Mada Masr Cairo)
- Revenue generation within knowledge based media economy of journalism
3:05-3:50PM Moderator: Michael Irving Jensen (International Media Support Copenhagen)
- Panel Discussion and Q&A from participants
- Sustainability and surviving in a fragmented and challenging financial & political media landscape
3:50PM Networking Coffee Break
The evolution of the career of the freelance journalist
4:20PM Marta Ottaviani (La Stampa Milan)
- Challenges and bureaucracy as a freelancer: in home country and experiences as Greece & Turkey correspondent
4:30PM Laura Silvia Battaglia (Frontline Freelancer Register Milan)
- Establishing independent freelancer network in MENA region and improving production standards
- Local knowledge vs parachute journalists; addressing safety, training; instability not being a full-time team
4:40PM Iason Athanasiadis (freelancer Istanbul)
- Career evolution of the freelancer: traditional & new media and experiences in MENA region
4:50PM-5:30PM Panel Discussion Q&A from participants
5:30PM Conclusions and Summaries from Day 1 from Moderators & Crowd-Sourcing Reports
DAY 2
8:15AM Morning Coffee
8:50AM Intro to Day 2
How do we create cross-border & cross-platform collaborations?
9:00AM Moderator: Enrico De Angelis (Syria Untold Cairo)
- Different approaches to collaboration: content, guest contributors, link-sharing, translations to native-language; overcoming the isolation of indie media in local markets
9:10AM Hamoud Almahmoud(Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism Amman)
- Having the right partners that can decipher local context of local data
9:20AM Alireza Jozi (TechRasa Tehran)
- Media as a platform to connect and facilitate cross-border entrepreneurship and innovation
9:30AM Sotiris Sideris (Athens Live Greece)
- Video and social media and building a community
9:40AM-10:45PM Panel Discussion and Q&A from participants
10:45AM Networking Coffee Break
Migration is Europe’s moment of truth & the challenge for journalism
11:15AM Preethi Nallu (www.refugeesdeeply.org Beirut)
- Collaborative vs. Competitive – New Approaches to Journalism
- Nurturing long term partnerships with journalists and media outlets
- Crowd-sourcing expertise from the pool of academics, humanitarian agencies and policy makers working on migration.
- Finding new ways of telling the story, while creating “relatability” and forming links between migration trends.
11:35AM Moderator – Discussion: Chris Elliott (Ethical Journalism Network & The Guardian London)
- Migration is Europe’s moment of truth & the challenge for journalism
- Politically driven-agendas, media literacy, sensationalism, missed opportunities, falling standards, hate speech, self-regulation of indie media
11:45AM-12:45PM Panel Discussion and Q&A from participants
12:45PM LUNCH BREAK
Diverse editorial narratives through filmmaking & video
2:00PM Gelareh Kiazand (filmmaker Tehran)
- How to address the careful balance of story-telling through fiction and documentaries without influencing the authenticity of story and characters
2:15PM Valantis Stamelos (filmmaker Izmir)
- Sharing stories in English to international audiences as a cultural bridge to those exploring the depth of perspectives in the region
2:30-3:00PM Discussion and Q&A
3:00PM Networking Coffee Break
3:30-4:30PM Summaries & Conclusions from Moderators & Crowd-Sourcing Reports:
- What are the main takeaways and outputs from each conference session
- Next steps for creating an annual meeting point between Europe & MENA for independent media & journalists
- How will we enact and create on-going new synergies, processes and collaborations between journalists and indie media from Europe & MENA?
![](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/education_blurb.png)
Sharing Knowledge
The format of the program and panel discussions is to analyze timely commercial & creative themes of the media industry through lively panel discussions with mixed-perspectives![](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/pitch_blurb.png)
Pitching Media Projects
Media start-ups will have an opportunity to pitch their projects to the audience and investors to seek partners and funding in the ‘pitch your media start-up’ session![](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/incubator_blurb.png)
Media Incubator
The aim of the conference is to encourage on-going commercial and creative synergies amongst publishers, media startups, filmmakers, journalists and advertisers within the East Med and internationally![](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/olive_blurb.png)
East Med Media Nexus
We aim to invigorate the media ecosystem in the East Med and use media as a tool for social progress, innovation and cultural extroversionAgenda Committee
- Ayman Mhanna & Caroline Giraud: GFMD – Brussels
- Aidan White: Ethical Journalism Network – London
- Yavuz Baydar: journalist Platform24 – Istanbul
- Ibrahim Nehme: The Outpost – Beirut
- Iason Athanasiadis: journalist & film-maker Middle East – Istanbul
- Alireza Jozi: TechRasa – Tehran
- Spyros Ladeas: director Aegean Summit – London/Athens
- Nikos Kakavoulis: digital media entrepreneur– Athens
- Michael Irving Jensen: International Media Support – Copenhagen
- Tassos Morfis: Athens Live – Athens
![](http://www.aegeansummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/aegean_400.png)
Mission of Aegean Summit
Why a Mediterranean & MENA Independent Media Summit?
The cities of Athens, Istanbul, Beirut, Cairo, Tunis, Amman and Tehran are seeing a wave of under-the-radar talent in media startups, publishing, bloggers, filmmaking, journalism and our goal is:
- To create an annual forum for media talent from the region to meet under one roof
- Create cross-border & cross-platform collaborations among independent media
- Engage international media and change the narrative with local perspectives from MENA & MED
- Panel discussions on monetizing, distribution models and diversifying revenue streams
- Long-term media incubator: pitch new projects, find partners and funders for startup media projects