Conference Committee 2024/25
How can we make crucial decisions in a world where facts, opinions, and lies continue to get confused? Who governs information, or is it even governable? The Clio Conference 2025 will answer these questions and more, addressing how misinformation sets the political agenda of the day and how it can be combated. Get involved in the discussion with a panel of experts and interactive workshops.
(CLIO MEMBER SIGN-UPS) Sign-ups are open! (NON-MEMBER SIGN-UPS)
More speakers to be announced shortly, stay tuned. We look forward to seeing you at the Conference!
(CLIO MEMBER SIGN-UPS) Sign-ups are open! (NON-MEMBER SIGN-UPS)
More speakers to be announced shortly, stay tuned. We look forward to seeing you at the Conference!
PANEL SPEAKERS
Kees Matthijssen / Panel & Keynote
Lieutenant General (retired) Cornelis Johannes (Kees) Matthijssen has served in the Dutch Armed Forces for almost 43 years before retiring in October 2023. He has fulfilled many positions in the Army Staff and Defence Staff, but also many in the operational domain including four deployments in a commander’s position. In his last posting he served as Force Commander for the UN Mission MINUSMA in Mali from January 2022 - January 2023. Furthermore, he was company commander in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995), battalion commander in Iraq (2004) and brigade commander in Afghanistan (2008-2009). He was also part of the Netherlands Liaison Team to UN Central Command in early 2002, Military Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2013-2014), the Deputy Army Commander and he served in NATO’s Joint Force Command Brunssum as Deputy Chief of Staff Plans. He holds a Master’s degree of Strategic Studies (MSS) obtained at the US Army War College in 2010. He was awarded the French ‘Legion of Honour’ and the German ‘Bundeswehr Cross of Honour’ for his outstanding cooperation with both nations. For his exceptional state of service, he received a royal honour and became an Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau with swords.
Marc Esteve Del Valle / Panel
Marc Esteve del Valle is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Media and Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen (The Netherlands). His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of digital communication and social change, with a focus on environmental issues. He is also the coordinator of the climate disinformation section at “Learntocheck”, a non-profit media education project about disinformation and digital content verification, and a European Climate Pact ambassador.
Jakub Kalenský / Panel
Jakub Kalenský is the Deputy Director of the Centre’s Hybrid Influence COI focusing on disinformation and countering of this threat. He joined the Centre of Excellence in 2022. Jakub has specialised in disinformation and Russian hybrid activities since 2015 when he joined the newly created East StratCom Task Force in the European Union’s diplomatic service, the EEAS. In the team, Jakub was responsible for raising awareness about Russia’s disinformation campaigns, and he and his colleagues founded the EUvsDisinfo campaign. Between 2018 and 2021, Jakub worked in the Atlantic Council’s Ukrainian Election Task Force and in the Digital Forensic Research Lab. He testified in the European Parliament, in the US Congress and in other legislative houses in Europe on Russian disinformation attacks and the countermeasures against it. Since 2024, Jakub is a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Natolin). Before specializing in countering disinformation, Jakub worked as a journalist in the Czech Republic.
WORKSHOP SPEAKERS
Marília Gehrke / Workshop
Marília Gehrke (Ph.D.) is an Assistant Professor of Media and Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen, and she is also the creator of the crowdsourced-based initiative Forced to Quit, which aims at mapping women in politics, journalism, and activism who had to leave the public sphere due to violence. This project is an outcome of the Jantina Tammes School Early Career Prize. Gehrke’s research interests are (gendered) disinformation, data journalism, transparency, and fact-checking. Besides working at RUG, she remains connected at the Digital Democracy Centre (DDC) at the University of Southern Denmark, where she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Trust and News Authenticity Project. She is also a fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute, in Germany, in the Platform Algorithms and Digital Propaganda research group.
David Joon / Workshop
David Joon (24) works for the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Communication – specifically the Strategy and Innovation Unit. In this role, he has participated in the coordination of the institutional information campaign for the 2024 European elections; written speeches for the Parliament's Spokesperson and Vice-Presidents; conducted various internal communication activities; helps prepare the communication strategy for the current legislature. Before that, he studied Communication and Media at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, with a strong focus on the question of communicating the European identity.
Jonah Zijlma / Workshop
Jonah Zijlma (26) works as a public relations officer at the European Parliament Liaison Office in the Netherlands, where he is responsible for the Parliament's events programme, stakeholder outreach, and general citizen communication strategy in the Netherlands. Prior to this, he interned at human rights organisation Forum 2000, and completed a traineeship at the same European Parliament Liaison Office. He graduated from the European Politics and Society Joint Masters Programme (Charles, Jagiellonian, Leiden) in September 2023.
Yoana Barakova / Workshop
Yoana Barakova is a researcher and trainer specialised in the prevention of violent extremism. With a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and a Master’s degree in Intelligence and Security Studies, Yoana has experience working on conflict, terrorism, radicalisation, and human rights violations — particularly in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. As a researcher on South Asia, she has explored the complex geopolitical, historical, social, and cultural factors that drive violent extremism in the region and abroad. Over the past three years, Yoana has specialized in training youth workers to build young people’s resilience against radical propaganda online and offline. Using media literacy strategies, capacity-building exercises, and empowerment workshops, she has helped young people develop critical thinking skills, confidence, and a stronger sense of agency.
Elena Rodina / Workshop
Dr. Elena Rodina is a media and press freedom expert specialising in journalism in exile, journalistic resistance, and cross-border collaborations. She has worked at leading international organisations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (New York) and Civil Rights Defenders (Stockholm). Holding a PhD in Media and Communication from Northwestern University, she has extensively explored the impact of authoritarianism on journalism and creative journalistic production in the digital age. Currently based in Cologne, she coordinates the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium, led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), which monitors and addresses media freedom violations across Europe, provides direct support to journalists, fosters cross-border collaborations, and strengthens independent media under threat.
Sangeeta Mahapatra / Workshop
Dr Sangeeta Mahapatra is a Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg. Combining multidisciplinary academic research with policy insights, she co-leads projects on digital authoritarianism, disinformation, digital politics, and AI and Internet governance. She collaborates with civil society organisations, journalists, and fact-checkers in South and Southeast Asia. Her work advances knowledge transfer, ethical technology policies, capacity-building against digital authoritarianism, and insights into the geopolitics of technology.
She is a former Fulbright Fellow, assistant professor, and journalist from India. As a GIGA researcher, she is also currently conducting a seminar on digital repression for BA students at the University of Hamburg.
She is a former Fulbright Fellow, assistant professor, and journalist from India. As a GIGA researcher, she is also currently conducting a seminar on digital repression for BA students at the University of Hamburg.
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Tom Casier
Tom Casier is Professor at the University of Groningen, where he holds the Chair in Global Politics of Europe. Before he was Reader in International Relations at the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS). He led BSIS as Academic Director from 2014 to 2017 and was Director of the Global Europe Centre. He also held a Jean Monnet Chair and provided policy advice for different institutions. Tom Casier’s research focuses mainly on Russian foreign policy, EU–Russia relations, and the EU and its eastern neighbours. He led a Jean Monnet project on EU–Russia relations and was involved in several projects on EU foreign policy, currently in one on EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine.
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