JULIANA RUHFUS

Juliana Ruhfus is an award-winning broadcaster and investigative journalist specialised in human rights and investigative work who now leads the European work of the “Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma”, a resource centre and global network of journalists, journalism educators and health professionals dedicated to improving media coverage of trauma, conflict and tragedy headquartered at Columbia University, NYC. 

Prior to joining Dart Centre Europe, Juliana spent sixteen years at Al Jazeera English as the channel’s senior presenter on the People & Power investigative and current affairs strand where she made over 60 films in nearly 50 countries including some of the show’s highest-rating episodes. Juliana has also worked as an executive producer for BBC World Service “Eye Investigations” setting up a unit in India, and as a filmmaker for Channel 4, WDR, NHK and other global broadcasters. 

In 2010, Juliana was awarded the prestigious Ochberg Fellowship and a year later, she received a scholarship for Harvard University’s Global Trauma Programme. In 2013, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) named her as one of the top 100 journalists covering conflict.  She serves on the board of trustees for the Environmental Justice Foundation, and on the advisory board for eyeWitness to Atrocities, a project of the International Bar Association.

Juliana loves story-telling and narratives in all forms and shapes. Beyond her work in filmmaking, Juliana has created and produced the multi-award winning "Pirate Fishing - Interactive Investigation" and “Hacked” digital projects.  In 2017 she successfully applied for Google DNI funding to develop an open source chat-based storytelling tool and in 2022 she received funding to write a fictional TV series about the environmental movement in Germany, an ongoing project. 

Outside of her work in media, Juliana was twice appointed as a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee consultant tasked with investigating breaches of the arms embargo on Somalia.