Presented By: Wallace House Center for Journalists
The Eisendrath Symposium: Covering Migration in Europe
Covering Migration in Europe: Displacement, Trauma and Reporting on Vulnerable Sources
Wallace House Presents a WCEE Panel and Eisendrath Symposium Event
With Ismail Einashe, Jedrzej Slodkowski, and Sarah Souli
Moderated by Lynette Clemetson
Welcome by Doug Northrop, Interim Director of WCEE
Across Europe, governments on the right, left, and center are rolling back protections for migrants and supporting new European Union proposals that would allow asylum seekers to be sent to third countries. Even as border crossings have dropped significantly in recent years, human rights groups warn that deterrence-focused policies and sealed borders are pushing people onto more dangerous routes, increasing the risk of abuse, displacement and trauma.
European media coverage of migration has largely centered on political debate, often leaving people’s lives and experiences out of the reporting. What does this imbalance mean for public understanding, and how can we responsibly cover Europe’s shifting migration politics, while ethically reporting on trauma and engaging vulnerable sources whose stories are too often overlooked?
The Eisendrath Symposium honors Charles R. Eisendrath, former director of Wallace House, and his lifelong commitment to international journalism.
About the Speakers
Ismail Einashe, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, is a London-based journalist and author whose work on migration and refugee issues has appeared in numerous publications – including Foreign Policy, The Guardian, BBC News, The Nation, The Sunday Times and ArtReview. He is the author of “Strangers” (2023), a book by Tate Publishing that explores migration through the lens of art, and he co-edited “Lost in Media: Migrant Perspectives and the Public Sphere” (2019), a collection of critical essays examining how migrants are represented in European media. Einashe is also part of a team of journalists working on a cross-border journalism collaborative called Lost in Europe, which investigates the disappearance of child migrants.
Jedrzej Slodkowski, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, is a reporter, editor and current deputy head of the culture section of “Gazeta Wyborcza,” Poland’s largest newspaper. He started his professional journalism career as a music critic 20 years ago. He now specializes in interviews with the most interesting figures in Polish culture. Recently, Słodkowski has focused on migration and refugee issues, editing an annual special edition of “Gazeta Wyborcza” authored by refugees themselves. He has also covered topics such as child slavery in Ghana, Kyiv’s music scene during the war and Nepalese mercenaries hired by Russia to fight in Ukraine.
Sarah Souli, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, has been living and reporting across the Mediterranean for more than a decade. Raised in the U.S. by a French mother and Tunisian father, her multicultural and multilingual background has deeply informed her perspective and work. She is most interested in how behemoth political structures intersect with the resilient and textured lived experiences of people. Her stories, including a multi-year investigation of a triple femicide on the Greek-Turkish border, have appeared in The Atavist, The Economist, POLITICO, The Guardian, Vice Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler and others. Prior to her work as an independent journalist, she was a staff writer for COLORS Magazine.
About the Moderator
Lynette Clemetson is the Charles R. Eisendrath Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists at the University of Michigan.
With Ismail Einashe, Jedrzej Slodkowski, and Sarah Souli
Moderated by Lynette Clemetson
Welcome by Doug Northrop, Interim Director of WCEE
Across Europe, governments on the right, left, and center are rolling back protections for migrants and supporting new European Union proposals that would allow asylum seekers to be sent to third countries. Even as border crossings have dropped significantly in recent years, human rights groups warn that deterrence-focused policies and sealed borders are pushing people onto more dangerous routes, increasing the risk of abuse, displacement and trauma.
European media coverage of migration has largely centered on political debate, often leaving people’s lives and experiences out of the reporting. What does this imbalance mean for public understanding, and how can we responsibly cover Europe’s shifting migration politics, while ethically reporting on trauma and engaging vulnerable sources whose stories are too often overlooked?
The Eisendrath Symposium honors Charles R. Eisendrath, former director of Wallace House, and his lifelong commitment to international journalism.
About the Speakers
Ismail Einashe, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, is a London-based journalist and author whose work on migration and refugee issues has appeared in numerous publications – including Foreign Policy, The Guardian, BBC News, The Nation, The Sunday Times and ArtReview. He is the author of “Strangers” (2023), a book by Tate Publishing that explores migration through the lens of art, and he co-edited “Lost in Media: Migrant Perspectives and the Public Sphere” (2019), a collection of critical essays examining how migrants are represented in European media. Einashe is also part of a team of journalists working on a cross-border journalism collaborative called Lost in Europe, which investigates the disappearance of child migrants.
Jedrzej Slodkowski, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, is a reporter, editor and current deputy head of the culture section of “Gazeta Wyborcza,” Poland’s largest newspaper. He started his professional journalism career as a music critic 20 years ago. He now specializes in interviews with the most interesting figures in Polish culture. Recently, Słodkowski has focused on migration and refugee issues, editing an annual special edition of “Gazeta Wyborcza” authored by refugees themselves. He has also covered topics such as child slavery in Ghana, Kyiv’s music scene during the war and Nepalese mercenaries hired by Russia to fight in Ukraine.
Sarah Souli, 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellow, has been living and reporting across the Mediterranean for more than a decade. Raised in the U.S. by a French mother and Tunisian father, her multicultural and multilingual background has deeply informed her perspective and work. She is most interested in how behemoth political structures intersect with the resilient and textured lived experiences of people. Her stories, including a multi-year investigation of a triple femicide on the Greek-Turkish border, have appeared in The Atavist, The Economist, POLITICO, The Guardian, Vice Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler and others. Prior to her work as an independent journalist, she was a staff writer for COLORS Magazine.
About the Moderator
Lynette Clemetson is the Charles R. Eisendrath Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists, home of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists at the University of Michigan.
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