Ioana Avadani

Ioana Avadani is the executive director of the Center for Independent Journalism in Bucharest, Romania. She has an experience of over 15 years in the media field, having worked as a news agency editor, a TV editor and as a media developer with CIJ.

As a CIJ director, Avadani coordinated programs ranging from professional training for journalists to targeted assistance for media operations, from advocacy for transparency and accountability of public authorities, press freedom and protection of journalists to curricula development and strengthening the journalists associations in Romania.

She was instrumental in the passing of critical legislation such as Access to Information Law and sunshine law, as well as amendments to Broadcast law, Public Broadcast Services law and public procurement legislation.

Between 2004 and 2006, she served two successive mandates as the president of the South East European Network for the Professionalization of the Media, a network gathering 18 training centers and media institutes in 10 countries in the South-Eastern Europe. Avadani also served as a contact point for the National Working Group for Romania created  under the Media Task Force of the Stability Pact. She is a member of the Prime Minister’;s College for Consultation with the NGOs, as well as a member of Team Europe, a group of experts in EU issues, created by the Delegation of the European Commission in Romania.

Avadani published several articles and studies dedicated to the media developments in Romania and SEE region. She appeared as a speaker in many national and international events organized by OSCE, World Bank, Council of Europe, etc.
She is also active in literature translation from English (a regular column in the cultural weekly Dilema Veche, as well as four novels, all authored by the Romanian-born American writer and poet Andrei Codrescu).