Seek Initiative names Neus Vidal Martí as Executive Director

Seek Initiative (Seek), a non-profit organisation that supports grassroots investigators, is proud to announce the appointment of Neus Vidal Martí as its Executive Director, effective 6 May.

A journalist and political scientist, Vidal comes to Seek from the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), where she spearheaded cross-border projects tracking restrictions on media freedom and access to information in Europe.

“We are thrilled that Neus Vidal Martí is joining Seek as Executive Director at a time when our mission of democratising the fight for truth is more important than ever,” said Seek Initiative’s Founding Director Jim Mintz.

“Conspiracy theories, lies, and manipulated content have cast a dark shadow across communities in all corners of the globe. The responsibility of pursuing and spreading trustworthy information can no longer be shouldered solely by intrepid journalists or any one group alone. We are all born with an innate curiosity that, with the right tools and training, can be ignited to create credible knowledge and shine a light on injustices for the common good,” Mintz added.

Vidal brings with her a wealth of experience in the fields of journalism, transparency, public participation, access to information and democracy. She is on the advisory board of the rule of law programme re:constitution and is a recipient of several grants and fellowships, most recently for a project examining the influence of lobbyists on regulations governing artificial intelligence, supported by the freedom of information advocacy group, FragDenStaat.

Her reporting and commentary has been featured in leading publications in Germany, Spain and the UK. As a freelance political correspondent for the Spanish newspaper El País, she covered national and Catalan politics, public institutions, and policy implementation, specialising in Freedom of Information requests and investigative reporting.

Vidal has taught journalism and media ethics at several universities, and is pursuing a PhD in Politics at Birkbeck, University of London.

In her new role, Vidal will steer Seek’s strategic direction and oversee the start-up non-profit’s work to achieve its ambitious goal of empowering one million inquisitive people to improve their communities through investigative projects, resources, and collaborations in the next five years.

“I am honoured to have this opportunity to lead Seek’s team at a crucial moment in its development,” said Vidal, who will be based in Berlin at Seek’s new office in the Publix media house set to open in spring 2024.

Seek Initiative supports community leaders, activists, citizen journalists, and NGOs to drive change in their communities through grassroots investigations in the public interest. The organisation provides training, resources, and assistance to community investigators, enabling them to conduct research, advocate for change, and mobilise their communities. Since launching in 2022, Seek has supported hundreds of local leaders, activists, young people, bloggers and others to address urgent, pervasive challenges such as corruption, access to education, and healthcare.