My name is Merga Yonas Bula (PhD) and I have 15 years of experience in media and communication fields. Currently, I am consulting r0g_agency for openculture.agency in creating digital safe space, particularly on countering disinformation and hate speech in conflict scenario. As a freelance journalist for Table.Media, I have been also covering sociopolitical and economic issues in the Horn of Africa and its diaspora communities. With Germany Federal Agency for Civic Education, I have been also supervising workshops on topics of political communication. My previous roles include Editor at Deutsche Welle (DW) and Co-Project Manager at DW Akademie, particularly in media development project. 

Academically, I hold an MA in International Media Studies, a collaborative program between DW Akademie, Bonn Rhein-Sieg University, and the University of Bonn, as well as a PhD in Communication Science from the Institute of Communication and Media Studies at Leipzig University. I am also author of the book Transnational Communication and Identity Construction in Diaspora: A Comparative Analysis of Four Diaspora Communities from the Horn of Africa.