ERMA generation 2002-2003

What is your current professional role, and how did the ERMA program influence your career path?

I am a broadcast journalist, working as a foreign correspondent for RAI, Italian State Radio and TV. After 6 years in Russia, I have been working since last year as Istanbul Bureau Chief, covering news from the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East. ERMA program allowed me to take a deeper and direct knowledge of the situation in South-East Europe, especially concerning post-conflict societies, human rights issues and EU integration and democratization process.

Can you share a memorable experience from your time in the program?

I would share two particular experiences: the first editions of a specific and very interesting seminar about “Genocide, War Crimes and Memories”, organized in Dubrovnik by Prof. Janja Bec; the internship with the “Society for Threatened Peoples” in Sarajevo, that allowed me to work with the Mothers from Srebrenica.

How has being part of the EAN Network benefited you personally or professionally?

Being part of the EAN network has benefited me both personally and professionally, providing me with an extensive structure made up of (dear) friends and (useful) contacts in countries where I have been working.

What advice would you give to current and prospective ERMA students?

I’d suggest that current and prospective ERMA students should try to take all the (many) opportunities they’ll find out to study and make research about human rights and democracy in places where these subjects are part of everyday reality and a key for building a better future.