The Program

Panel 1 - Unarmed/disarming. Nonviolent women in action

10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m

The panel "Unarmed. Disarming. Nonviolent women in struggle" aims to give voice to journalists who, with the tools of speech, creativity and knowledge, oppose the armed and symbolic violence that seems to overwhelm the contemporary world. "Unarmed" because they have no weapons, but "disarming" in their ability to dismantle authoritarian and patriarchal systems through independent journalism and critical research. Journalists denounce conflicts and abuses using language that respects human rights, documenting the mechanisms of discrimination and offering data and interpretative keys. The Forum will thus explore non-violence as a political and cognitive gesture, capable of creating communities and opening up spaces for social, environmental and gender justice, while denouncing the many phenomena of systemic violence that journalists have to endure in a global information landscape where freedom of the press and expression is severely compromised.

Introduction:

Marilù Mastrogiovanni, founder of the Forum of Mediterranean Women Journalists

Speakers:

Roberto Bellotti, Rector of the University of Bari

Vito Leccese, Mayor of Bari

Loredana Perla, Director of the For. Psi. Com Department

Luigi Cazzato , Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Journalism, University of Bari

Alessandra Costante , Secretary General of the Italian National Press Federation

Maurizio Marangelli , President of the Order of Journalists of the Puglia Region

Piero Ricci, Councillor of the National Order of Journalists

Raffaele Lorusso , Executive Committee of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

Vito Fatiguso, segretario Assostampa Puglia

Lino Patruno , Director of Medi@terraneonews, Master's Degree in Journalism, University of Bari

Lella Ruccia, Equality Councillor for the Puglia Region

Rossella Matarrese, Giulia journalists Puglia

Serena Bersani, National President of Gi.U.Li.A. Journalists

Keynote speaker: Mona Abuamara, Ambassador of Palestine to Italy

PANEL 2 - Silencing the truth: the massacre of journalists in Palestine

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

At the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, press freedom is under siege. 275 local reporters have lost their lives covering the war, often amid international indifference. The panel addresses the systematic violation of the right to information, the role of global media and the risks faced by those who bear witness on the ground. The aim is to denounce censorship, give a voice to those who resist and propose tools to protect journalists.

Moderator: Gianpaolo Altamura, Uniba

Mona Abuamara, Ambassador of Palestine to Italy

Luigi Cazzato, coordinator of the Master's programme in Journalism, Uniba

Aya Ashour, journalist, Gaza

Rula Jebreal, journalist

Jumana Shahin, journalist, Palestine

Meri Calvelli, ACS NGO, Global Sumud Flotilla

Bisan Owda, journalist, Palestine

PANEL 3 – Beyond stereotypes: the attack on press freedom in the era of gender apartheid

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

In a global context increasingly dominated by digital platforms and algorithms, the panel analyses how press freedom is threatened by censorship, disinformation and data manipulation. It will discuss the impact of stereotypes in the media, political and commercial pressures on newsrooms, and strategies to ensure the safety, transparency and independence of journalists in the digital age. The aim is to share concrete tools for resistance and ethical journalism practices. Through examples of innovative journalistic practices, the panel will show how language is a political act: a tool for invisibilisation or empowerment.

Rosa Gallelli, Uniba

Speakers:

Rossella Matarrese, Giulia giornaliste

Grazia Pia Attolini, Ossigeno per l'informazione

Alessandra Mancuso, Giulia giornaliste

Barbara Schiavulli, director of Radio Bullets, Global Sumuda Flotilla

Shukria Barokzai, journalist, Member of Parliament, former Ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway

PANEL 4 – Rojava, the real utopia of a patriarchy-free world

09:30 / 11:30

The women's movement in Kurdistan, particularly in Western Kurdistan, Rojava, is at the forefront of feminism, seeking to reform every aspect of civil life through a transformative pedagogy of society.

Yet the scope of this revolution, based on the peaceful coexistence of peoples and cultures starting with the abolition of patriarchy, is ignored and censored by the mainstream media, and the conditions of a people oppressed by apartheid implemented by four nation states are removed from the collective consciousness. The experiment in radical democracy, which has been going on for over ten years, is in danger of being destroyed, under attack, including with chemical weapons, especially from Turkey. Yet the PKK, the Kurdish workers' party, has chosen to disarm in a solemn ceremony in which weapons were burned.

Information therefore becomes crucial in giving voice to revolutionary and peaceful experiences in a high-risk area. Female journalists in north-eastern Syria are fighting a battle for truth from a gender perspective.

Moderator:

Armida Salvati, Aldo Moro University of Bari

Speakers:

Benedetta Argentieri, journalist, director: The women's liberation movement in north-eastern Syria: how to report on it beyond gender stereotypes

Marilù Mastrogiovanni, journalist, founder of the Forum of Mediterranean Women Journalists: Jineoloji and the women's liberation movement

Devrim Arslan, journalist, JINHA, women's news agency: Women's information in Syria, between the regime and the liberation project

Rihan Loqo, spokesperson for Kongra Star, Rojava

Zilan Diyar, giornalista, TJK-E, Kurdistan

Panel 5 - If you don't say it, it doesn't exist: women and representation in the media

12pm-2pm

The link between language, visibility and female citizenship must be addressed. If women are not mentioned, represented or recognised in the media, they end up being invisible in the public sphere. The new Code of Ethics for Journalists sets out the criteria for the correct reporting of femicides. Words and images contribute to reinforcing sexist stereotypes or, conversely, to dismantling them, breaking the chain of violence. The results of the 30th year of the Global Media Monitoring Project (in which the University of Bari participated for the first time) will be presented, along with the results of Ossigeno per l'Informazione's monitoring of gender-based threats to journalists and Sui generis, a review by Giulia Giornaliste that monitors the presence of female signatures on the front pages of Italian newspapers.

Moderator: Lorena Carbonara, University of Calabria

Alessandra Mancuso, Rai, Giulia Giornaliste

Claudia Padovani, University of Padua: the Global Media Monitoring Project

Monia Azzalini, Giulia Giornaliste: the activities of the Pavia Observatory

Paola Rizzi, Giulia giornaliste: Giulia giornaliste's 'Sui generis' monitoring

Antonella Napoli, Director of Focus on Africa

PANEL 6 – In the name of the mother: the right to be named

4-6 p.m.

Women's right to be named in female roles is linked to their right to self-determination. The new code of ethics for journalists introduces Article 13, which also relates to the correct reporting of victims of femicide. The issue of giving one's surname to one's children remains controversial in many legal and cultural contexts, even though it is a fundamental issue of equality, identity and recognition. The panel 'In the name of the mother' aims to explore how surname attribution practices, the incorrect use of gendered language by journalists and the double victimisation in the reporting of femicide reflect and perpetuate power relations within families and societies, and how reforming them could be an important step towards dismantling patriarchal structures.

Coordinators:

Daniela Carlà, coordinator of Noi rete donne

Antonella Roselli, administrative lawyer, Noi rete Donne

Speakers:

Marilù Mastrogiovanni, founder of the Forum of Mediterranean Women Journalists

Amalia Diurni, Tor Vergata University of Rome

Francesca Recchia Luciani, Aldo Moro University of Bari

Francesca Dragotto, Rome Tor Vergata

Giovanna Iacovone, University of Basilicata and Deputy Mayor of Bari

Lella Ruccia, Regional Equality Councillor

Laura Cima, National Coordinator of Ecofeminists

Marilisa D’Amico, Prorettrice Università di Milano

PANEL 7 – Si vis pacem: UN Resolution 1325 and the role of women in conflict prevention

4-6 p.m.

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 establishes the fundamental role of women in peace processes and conflict prevention. The panel analyses real experiences of women's participation in mediation, the protection of women's rights in war zones and the challenges that remain in translating international law into concrete policies. The aim is to share best practices, inspire new strategies and promote transnational networks of female leadership in peace and security. To do this, it is necessary to train journalists in feminist practices and theories, gender language, and the rights of migrants and vulnerable people.

Coordinators:</p

Daniela Carlà, coordinator of Noi rete donne

Marilù Mastrogiovanni, founder of the Forum of Mediterranean Women Journalists

Speakers:

Maria Antonietta Aiello, Rector of the University of Salento

Rosa Parisi, University of Salento

Cecilia Brighi, Secretary General of Italia-Birmania insieme APS

Maria Rosaria Stabili, Roma Tre University

Giovanna Martelli, Secretary General of the Rut Foundation

Maura Viezzoli, President of CISP-International Committee for the Development of Peoples

Gabriella Falcicchio, Aldo Moro University of Bari

Maria Luisa Capasa, ANDE

PANEL 8 – Information in the age of climate change

4pm-6pm

Ecofeminism as a lens for understanding the links between the exploitation of bodies and environmental devastation. A discussion between journalists, activists and researchers on how feminist and environmentalist struggles are intertwined in the Mediterranean, between the defence of territories, common resources and community rights, where accurate environmental information plays a central role in the self-determination of individuals and peoples.

Coordinator:

Daniela Spera, journalist

Speakers:

Rosy Battaglia, journalist

Valentina Murrieri, journalist, Lecceprima

Marilù Mastrogiovanni, founder of the Forum of Mediterranean Women Journalists

Vittoria Torsello, Marea media

Helena Rodríguez Gómez, journalist, Spain

Testimonials “Network of mothers from North to South”