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Maison du MédiaLab: Garden Party, study visits, events at the Maison and work trips
Maison du MédiaLab: Garden Party, study visits, events at the Maison and work trips.
Newsletter August - September 2026
1. Stars4Media Garden Party
Organised on 9 September in partnership with Enabel, the bi-annual Garden Party brought together EU journalists, including current and former Maison du MédiaLab residents, European and Belgian diplomats and policymakers, social media founders and European tech voices.
We were honoured to have, among the opening speakers, the CEO of Enabel, Jean Van Wetter, the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu, Member of the Commissioner Kos ’ Cabinet, Alberto Fernández-Díez, H.E. Ambassador of Armenia to the EU, Tigran Balayan, and the Minister-Counsellor of Moldova to the EU, Angelica Munteanu.
In the second round of statements that evening, we continued the discussion with brief statements on Trusted European Platforms by Christophe Leclercq, founder of Europe MédiaLab, Grégoire Vigroux, co-founder of eYou social, Clare Melford, co-founder & exec. director, Global Disinformation Index, and Luc Suykens, CEO and vice-chairman, UBA Belgium.
The evening highlighted the importance of the work of EU correspondents from the Maison du Médialab programme for the EU and its candidate and neighbourhood countries, as well as emphasised the value of emerging European social media platforms that keep building trust in Europe’s information space.
2. Journalists at the EU’s DG ENEST & NATO headquarters
In September, the correspondents continued getting to know the institutions they report on from Brussels. On 22 September, they joined an informal exchange with the Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) of the European Commission, where they discussed the EU enlargement process, the connectivity agenda, and recent developments in the relations between the EU and Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Two days later, on 24 September, the journalists visited NATO headquarters for a series of background briefings. They learned about the work of the NATO Press Office and its media facilities, as well as NATO’s relations with Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine in discussions with representatives of the Political Affairs and Security Policy Division.
The visits allowed the correspondents to ask questions directly, build contacts and gain a useful background for their reporting.
3. Meeting Brussels: a calendar full of study visits
Cătălin Volconovici, a current Maison resident from Moldova, and his media outlet, NordNews, have recently launched a new live format show connecting the studio in Bălți with Brussels. The show is broadcast twice a month and creates a direct “Bălți–Brussels bridge”, explaining in a simple way the EU developments that matter most for Moldova.
Live from Brussels, Cătălin discusses topics including Moldova’s EU accession process, European funding, the Growth Plan for Moldova and EU support. The journalist at the Bălți studio asks questions, while Cătălin provides context and explanations based on his reporting.
As Cătălin explains, the goal of the show is “to make Brussels feel less distant and to translate complex EU processes into something understandable and relevant for people back home, especially for audiences in the north of Moldova”.
4. Olha Kyrylova reporting from Strasbourg
During the plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, former Maison du MédiaLab correspondent based in Brussels Olha Kyrylova (Telegraf UA) reported on the key issues influencing the European debates on Ukraine. Olha covered Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech and held an interview with the European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius on the situation in Ukraine and EU support.
Olha also interviewed MEP Helmut Brandstätter about renewed proposals to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s needs and spoke to MEPs from different political groups about the perspectives of possible peace negotiations. She also covered an event hosted by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group, featuring former Ukrainian presidential press secretary Yulia Mendel. Olha analysed statements made by Mendel and AfD politicians and fact-checked several misleading claims that closely echo Kremlin narratives.
5. Lusine Vardanyan joins N-ost Program in Poland
Lusine Vardanyan (CivilNet), a former Maison du MédiaLab correspondent from Armenia, took part in the EU Reporting Beyond Slogans study trip to Poland, organised by N-ost. The programme focused on making EU reporting more accessible and relevant and explored Poland’s journey towards EU accession, featuring what can be learned from this experience and what EU policies mean in practice for agriculture and energy.
For Lusine, a particular focus was energy security. Meeting with experts and a visit to the energy cooperative in Serock gave her new perspectives for reporting on Armenia’s energy security and cooperation with the EU, as well as ‘more specific questions to take back to Brussels’.
Lusine shared that “ meetings with Jan Truszczyński, Poland’s former chief accession negotiator, and Danuta Hübner, a former EU Commissioner, were highlights for me. They helped me think about how to explain the long, often technical steps that come before accession. I also enjoyed visiting the Bronisze wholesale market and discussing how Moldovan products reach the EU market”.
6. Celebrating Armenia’s Independence Day
On 21 September, on the occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day, Maison du MédiaLab correspondents and the founder of Europe MediaLab Christophe Leclercq joined the Armenian community and partners for a reception in Brussels. The event was an opportunity to meet and exchange with people working on Armenia – EU relations and celebrate the occasion together.
Through the Maison du MédiaLab, we are proud to support Armenian correspondents, including current residents Sam Martirosyan (Hetq) and Karine Asatryan (Factor TV), reporting from Brussels and helping Armenian audiences stay informed about European affairs.
7. Confiture making at the Maison
At the beginning of September, Maison du MédiaLab correspondents got together for an afternoon of homemade jam making with founders of Europe MédiaLab Christophe Leclercq and Sharon Leclercq-Spooner.
Together, they prepared mirabelles and made several jars of jam, with everyone contributing to the process. It was a nice opportunity to spend some informal time together and enjoy a different kind of activity at the Maison.
8. Borscht day at the Maison
On 12 September, the Maison du MédiaLab hosted Borscht day together with the Ukrainian Cultural Space. The guests gathered around one of Ukraine’s best-known culinary traditions with cooking and sharing borscht, accompanied by the live bandura performance of Dmytro Radchenko on a traditional Starosvitska Bandura.
The event was an opportunity to celebrate Ukrainian culture and traditions in Brussels and to share the cultural significance of borscht, whose cooking culture is recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
9. Highlighting residents’ work
| Yuliia Hyra Babel (Ukraine) | Maxim Bolohan IPN (Moldova) |
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| During August and September, Yuliia Hyra has covered a broad range of political developments affecting Ukraine, including EU support for Ukrainian air defence and frozen Russian assets. Yuliia has also examined tensions around Ukrainian grain transit though Moldova and Romania and covered an event in the European Parliament with former Ukrainian presidential spokesperson Yuliia Mendel. | During August and September, Maxim Bolohan has closely followed the EU enlargement process, reporting on Moldova and Ukraine’s accession processes and the next steps for candidate countries. Maxim also covered European Parliament findings on disinformation campaigns and foreign interference within the EU and described EU financial and defence support for Ukraine. |
