Natalia Antelava is a veteran foreign correspondent and entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Coda Story, an innovative journalism studio that investigates the changing nature and expanding geography of modern-day authoritarianism.
Under Natalia's leadership, Coda has earned numerous awards for its groundbreaking coverage of stories at the intersection of tech, disinformation and authoritarianism. Originally from Tbilisi, Natalia started her career as a freelance journalist in West Africa before becoming the BBC’s resident correspondent in the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East, Washington D.C., and India. She has covered the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, the war in Eastern Ukraine and reported undercover from Burma, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Her investigations into human rights abuses in Central Asia, Iraq and the United States have won her a number of awards. Natalia has contributed to many leading publications including the Foreign Affairs, the Guardian, CNN and the New Yorker and she is also the co-founder of Zeg Fest, a groundbreaking annual storytelling festival in Tbilisi, Georgia.
