Olivia Kortas is a German-Polish freelance reporter. She studied Psychology and Communication Science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and holds an Honours Degree in International Journalism from DMJX in Aarhus, Denmark, and HU Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Her work is focused on migration, crisis, and Central and Eastern Europe. In recent years, she has reported from a dozen of countries, including Iraq, Uganda, Kenya, Russia, and Ukraine. Her stories draw attention to political and economic trends around the globe.

From 2018 to 2021, Olivia was based in Warsaw, Poland, where she covered the attack on the justice system, the socio-economic background of three elections, and massive protests against stricter abortion laws. She is now based in Berlin.

Her work has appeared in some of Europe’s most prestigious media outlets, amongst others The Economist, Al Jazeera English, Die Zeit, Der Standard, F.A.Z. and F.A.S., Tygodnik Powszechny, De Groene Amsterdammer, MDR, Deutsche Welle, and De Standaard.

FELLOWSHIPS AND PRIZES

FONDS PASCAL DECROOS (2016 and 2020/21)

STIPENDIUM DER STIFTUNG FÜR DEUTSCH-POLNISCHE ZUSAMMENARBEIT (2020)

RESEARCH PRIZE EASTERN EUROPE (2018)

HOSTWRITER PITCH PRIZE (2017)

KARL-GEROLD-STIFTUNG (2017)

DE GROENE AMSTERDAMMER PROGRAMME (2017)