Speaking & Training
re:constitution — Rule of Law Communications Training (2026)
I delivered a two-hour training for fellows of re:constitution, a Berlin-based exchange programme for legal scholars working on democracy and constitutionalism in Europe. The session focused on translating complex legal and political analysis into clear, compelling narratives that resonate with people who can act: policymakers, journalists, and civil society.
We worked through the building blocks of strategic communications: identifying your audience, crafting a core message, and choosing the right formats and channels for different goals. Participants also practised communication skills based on their own legal research.
Europe Lab — Democracy Workshop Facilitation (2025)
I facilitated a four-day workshop on democracy for Europe Lab, a programme that brings together young professionals and activists from across Europe to explore questions such as persecution and climate change, alongside the fundamentals of pluralist democracy.
This was the programme’s tenth anniversary edition, held in Weimar, Germany, a city that carries tremendous weight in European history. Over the course of the workshops, the 34 participants explored difficult conversations that delved deep into societal challenges and conceptualised civil society initiatives to address them, some of which received financial support from the organisers.
RARE — Communications Training for Rule of Law Practitioners (2024)
The RARE programme brings together outstanding human rights defenders and rule-of-law practitioners from across Europe for intensive professional development. I was invited to deliver communications training for the RARE3 cohort, a group of 25 practitioners working in human rights and advocacy organisations across the continent.
The session explored how to build a communications strategy for rule-of-law work. This included how to frame issues in ways that resonate beyond specialist circles, a review of several examples, and a practical exercise on messaging.
CEELI Institute — Communications Workshops for Judges and Civil Society (2023 & 2024)
The public perception of a ruling can be as consequential as the decision itself. Can courtrooms better communicate their work? Can they do so if they have to navigate political pressure?
I participated as a speaker and trainer at a two-day workshop organised by the CEELI Institute in Prague, focused on helping European judges and civil society organisations improve their public communications and rebuild trust in the judiciary.
My session drew on Democracy Reporting International’s experience in messaging and developing effective press materials to communicate complex legal and political issues to specialised and non-specialised audiences.
In a mix of lectures and workshops, we explored concrete tools for writing, how to use video and social media to explain judicial processes, and how to respond to political attacks without escalating them. I returned in 2024 for a second workshop, this time working with judicial participants from Central and Eastern Europe. Read more
University of Palermo — Lecture on Communicating Democracy and Human Rights (2022)
Legal expertise, however excellent, has a limited impact if it stays inside the academy. This is a question that has nagged me for a long time.
In 2022, I was invited to the University of Palermo to give a presentation to law scholars and PhD students on strategies for communicating democracy and human rights.
The lecture explored public support for democracy and human rights, with proposals for how NGOs and legal scholars can increase such support.
Drawing on my experience at Democracy Reporting International and my journalism background, I walked through what effective democracy communication looks like in practice, including framing, narratives, and media engagement.