In the days, following the US elections in 2016, Joanna felt compelled to lend solidarity to Brussels-based activists and co-founded a new NGO network. The aim was simple – to provide solace and support to NGOs, and build their capacity to face growing threats of populism. The first event with a leading member of the Brussels press corps gathered 80+ people and many stayed long after discussion to network. Newsandbooze was born.

In the following years, we hosted 10+ events per year on the rooftop of the European Environmental Bureau, always with a guest speaker. Here’s an article on the crisis communication event where Joanna was speaker: How to keep calm and carry on communicating during a crisis

The last event before lockdown heard from the head of strategic communication for the European Commission, who laid out the then new Green Deal strategy.

During lockdown, we continued with online events. Here’s an interview with the Financial Times Brussels correspondent: