American investigative journalist Carey Gillam has spent more than 20 years reporting on the health and environmental impacts of the agrochemical industry, including 17 years working for Reuters news agency. Her 2017 award-winning book about Monsanto, Whitewash – The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science, exposed the company’s efforts to manipulate scientific literature, collude with academics and regulatory officials to hide the risks of its products. Monsanto attempted to silence Gillam, but the evidence she uncovered is so powerful that she has been asked to speak all over the world to share her findings. Gillam now works as a freelance writer, a columnist for The Guardian and researcher at the nonprofit group US Right to Know.

Sandhya Ravishankar is an award winning journalist and the editor of The Lede, an independent online publication. She has investigated and exposed corruption, illegality and the state-police-miner nexus in the beach mineral mining industry. As a result of her work, she has faced numerous threats to her life and liberty over the past five years. Sandhya and The Lede were a partner in the Green Blood project helmed by Forbidden Stories which took forward investigations by journalists at risk or who were killed for their work. She is based in Chennai, south India and has authored an unofficial biography of a former Chief Minister of her state, M Karunanidhi, a book titled 'Karunanidhi: A Life In Politics".

Laurent Richard, French award-winning investigative journalist and 2017 Knight-Wallace fellow. He is co-founder of the highly reputed inquiry magazine “Cash Investigation” broadcast on French public television.

Sophie Kayes is a Senior Officer for Eurasia at the Rory Peck Trust, a London-based NGO that supports freelance news-gatherers world-wide. She leads the Trust’s work in the Eurasia region, providing dedicated support to media professionals and developing tailored safety trainings for journalists. Sophie is RPT’s representative on the CoE Platform for the protection of journalists. Her professional background demonstrates her commitment to championing independent journalism, having previously worked at the Frontline Club and Justice for Journalists Foundation. Prior to relocating to the UK in 2007, Sophie worked as a reporter and producer for international media in her homeland, Russia.

For the last couple of years, Anastasiia Nohovitsyna has been contributing to effective implementation of the Council of Europe’s international technical co-operation projects in the area of justice reform. She worked with various project partners from Romania, North Macedonia and Turkey, coordinated the organisation of high-level events, official visits and other project activities. She also advocates for eco-friendly working methods and ecological mainstreaming at different levels by setting-up environmental initiatives at the Council of Europe.