The Speakers

Rafik Santrosyan is an Assistant Professor at the American University of Armenia whose research and teaching span linguistics, translation studies, discourse analysis, gender studies, and Armenian literary history. His scholarship examines how language and translation mediate gender, authority, and cultural memory, combining archival and philological research with feminist, sociolinguistic, and discourse-analytic approaches. Santrosyan is also a professional translator and simultaneous interpreter. His combined expertise in language mediation and gender studies has led to his engagement as a gender expert on policy and capacity-building projects, including the development of a gender equality dictionary and resources on intersectionally inclusive communication. 

Simon Hobbs is a Senior Lecturer in Visual Culture at the University of Portsmouth. He is the author of Cultivating Extreme Art Cinema: Text, Paratext and Home Video Culture (Edinburgh University Press, 2018) and the co-editor of #True Crime: Digital Culture, Ethics and True Crime Audiences (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026).

Megan Hoffman is an independent scholar. She is the author of Gender and Representation in British 'Golden Age' Crime Fiction: Women Writing Women (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) and is the co-editor of #True Crime: Digital Culture, Ethics and True Crime Audiences (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026).

Their work has been published in edited collections and journals including Televising True Crime: The True Crime Genre in the Digital Age (Routledge, 2026), True Crime and Women: Writers, Readers, and Representations (Routledge, 2024), Crime Fiction Studies (2022), and Critiquing Violent Crime in the Media (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), and Popular Media Cultures: Fans, Audiences and Paratexts (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).

Cinzia Spinzi is Associate Professor at the University of Padua. She holds a PhD in English for Specific Purposes, a Master’s in Translation Studies from the University of Birmingham, and a Research Fellowship from the City University of London and from the Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research activity and major publications lie in Language Mediation, Cross-cultural communication and Translation, with a particular focus on the translation of tourism discourse, accessibility and metaphors. She has recently published Translating Tourism (Routledge, 2025) with Stefania Maci. She is member of the Research Centre on Languages for Specific Purposes (Unibg) and co-editor of the international journal Cultus: the Journal of Intercultural Mediation and Communication.

Maria Gabriella Mieli is responsible for external and International relations of Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Italy and Coordinator UPF South Europe. She’s Vice President of Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) Italy. Former president from 2002 to 2012. Delegate at UN Geneva from 1998 to 2002. She represented WFWP International in Palermo at the United Nation Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime in 2000. She’s moderator and speaker in events focused on women, family, good governance, interreligious dialogue, reconciliation, human rights and education on peace at national and international level.

Lubna Yaseen is a Syrian writer, journalist, and visual artist based in the Netherlands. She is the author of thirteen books across various literary genres. Selected works from her publications have been translated into several languages. She received first prize in the Dutch Migration Literature Competition and first prize in the Qatar Children's Literature Competition. Her award-winning story was included in the Grade 7 Arabic Language curriculum in Qatar. She participated in international art exhibitions and delivered media training courses in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2008 and 2009. She also served as a jury member for article, investigative journalism, and short story competitions in Saudi Arabia in 2009 and 2010, and chaired the jury for the Short Documentary Film Competition at the Souss International Short Film Festival in Morocco in 2022.

Simone Borile is a clinical criminologist, anthropologist, and forensic psychologist. He serves as an Expert Judge at the Venice Supervisory Court and is the Director of the three-year degree programme in Cultural and Linguistic Mediation for Security and Social Defence at CIELS Campus in Padua. He teaches the course Risky and Aggressive Behaviours. For several years, his research has focused on forensic issues, particularly group violence and culturally oriented crimes, and he has published extensively in numerous national and international journals.

Angela Procaccino is Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Foggia, Italy, and Visiting Professor at Istanbul University, Turkey. She teaches European and Comparative Criminal Procedure Law, and conducts research into prevention and security, with a particular focus on counter-crime strategies, preventive measures and Restorative Justice. Her research also focuses on the involvement of minors and women in organised crime contexts, covering testimony, cooperation and procedural protection. She has organised and spoken at national and international conferences and spoke at events held at the American Forensic Science Academy and the European Forensic Science Academy. She has taught at the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura, at the Police Academy and Carabinieri Academy and at Forensic Training Colleges.

Anna Romagnuolo is Associate Professor of English Language and Translation at the University of Naples "L'Orientale", where she also serves as President of the University Language Centre (CLAOR). A qualified translator, interpreter and language teacher, her research focuses on discourse analysis, translation studies and language education, with particular interests in political and climate narratives, digital language learning, and the role of storytelling in shaping cultural and social representations. She serves of the editorial board of Ácoma, e-Padagogium and ALLied.

Zoe Landsberg is a PhD candidate in the Department of Literary Studies in English at Rhodes University in South Africa. While her current research focuses on the convergence of magical realism and crime fiction, Zoe has also explored the relationship between self-objectification and victim-survivors of sexual violence.

Viviana Gaballo is an Associate Professor of English Linguistics and Translation Studies at the University of Padua, Italy. She has a robust publication and presentation record in international conferences, with her research interests spanning across various domains. In Linguistics, she has focused on Critical Discourse Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, linguistic variation, and lexicography. Her work in Applied Linguistics includes significant contributions to Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and Technology-Enhanced Language Teaching and Learning (TEL). Within Translation Studies, she has explored translation competence, collaborative translation, and transcreation, establishing herself as a leading voice in these fields. Her commitment to innovation in education aligns with edupunk, embracing DIY learning, open resources, and the rejection of rigid institutional hierarchies to foster critical, autonomous learners. As a peace ambassador, she integrates these values into her work, using language and education as catalysts for dialogue, empowerment, and intercultural solidarity. Her scholarship and teaching reflect a commitment to dismantling barriers—both linguistic and ideological—promoting a more equitable, collaborative, and socially engaged approach to learning and knowledge-sharing.