Dataharvest 2026 - the European Investigative Journalism Conference

Independent newsrooms operate in a landscape full of contradictions. Digital journalism has the potential to reach large audiences, yet people today are overwhelmed by a constant stream of online content – much of it shaped by opaque corporate algorithms and polluted with disinformation. At the same time, funders increasingly ask newsrooms to demonstrate measurable audience reach, impact, and engagement.

Against this backdrop, in-person events offer a powerful opportunity. By reclaiming the spirit of the public square, live gatherings allow newsrooms to meet their audiences face-to-face, build community, and create deeper, more meaningful reporting and engagement. Yet organising such activities and integrating them into editorial work can also be time-consuming and resource-intensive.

In this session, speakers will share practical ways independent newsrooms are combining audience data with in-person events to better listen to the public and co-produce journalism with their communities. What tools and spaces can make this possible? What are the advantages – and limitations – of small, intimate gatherings vs large public events? What works, and what doesn't? Join us to explore practical strategies for using in-person engagement to strengthen journalism, deepen audience relationships, and support the long-term sustainability of independent newsrooms.

Description to follow

This cafe/clinic is intended as a safe space for individuals or teams involved in a cross-border investigation where they can receive custom support with specific challenges. Potential topics include pitching stories to editors cold-door, finding colleagues to pursue a story, managing and resolving team conflicts, organising workflows, beginning cross-border projects from scratch, and tips for progressing when you find yourself stuck in an investigation.

Please note: you need to book a time slot in advance! You can do it HERE.

Journalists taking part in collaborations want equity and respect alongside impact, according to a 2025 poll by Lighthouse Reports. But what does that mean on the ground, and how can journalists advance equity in practical ways?

In this session moderated by journalist Hazel Sheffield, Lighthouse managing editor Hui Yee Tan will be joined by journalist and researcher Ruona Meyer. Together they will share the highlights of the survey and discuss its implications as well as practical needs of journalists in collaborations, and solutions to overcome inequitable relations in collaborative journalism projects.

Come with your own experiences and questions to share with experienced journalists in a safe, peer-to-peer environment, and openly discuss the things everyone else might be feeling are better left unsaid. 

In this demo, participants will learn how to create a static map in QGIS that is ready for publication. The session will cover setting map dimensions, selecting a basemap, adding geospatial data, and incorporating key design elements such as text annotations, a north arrow, a scale bar, an inset map, and images. Participants will also learn how to export the finished map as a JPG.

Download and install QGIS on your laptop before the session and confirm that it opens properly. MacBook users who run into security warnings when opening QGIS can follow the workaround here

With so-called low-code platforms like n8n, you can quickly click together programs that would otherwise require tedious Python coding. And you can integrate LLMs at various points to, for example, extract information from texts or summarize content. This allows you to build complex workflows. Receive a Teams message from an agent when a nearby river level approaches extreme values? No problem! Automatically monitor the police website for accident reports and generate suggestions for brief news items? With n8n, this can be automated quickly. This workshop provides an introduction to the free platform n8n. No prior knowledge is expected.