Can you tell us a little about your career path and the key milestones along the way?
My career began days after submitting my Master’s thesis in International Law, which explored the tension between protecting people and protecting borders in the Mediterranean. I joined Sea-Watch in Lampedusa as a legal advisor and soon became directly involved in rescue missions at sea.
From there, I coordinated operations on Lesbos and later joined Doctors without Borders, first on the Aquarius collecting testimonies and supporting vulnerable survivors, and then in Libya as Advocacy Manager, working on medical activities in detention centres. Such experience deepened my understanding of the conditions faced by migrants on the “other side” of the Mediterranean, and fuelled a sense of responsibility to not let this be overlooked in Europe.
I returned to Sea-Watch as spokesperson at a time when civilian sea rescue was increasingly criminalised and under constant attack from politics, media, and even courts. This role confirmed to me how political advocacy had become inseparable from humanitarian work, as in the case of Carola Rackete, who was arrested for fulfilling her duty to rescue as Captain of Sea-Watch’s rescue boat.
Since 2024, I have coordinated a multi-country project with Avocats sans Frontières against structural racism in the Euro-Mediterranean region, while also teaching Refugee Law in the University of Milano-Bicocca and a course at the Geneva Graduate Institute on seaborne migration and civil engagement in the Central Mediterranean Sea.
What motivates you in your daily work, and how did your studies at the Institute feed this motivation?
Even in today’s discouraging climate for human rights, what drives me is the determination not to remain indifferent. I see it as my responsibility, especially as a white European, to use my privilege to confront racism and injustice in migration policies. My time at the Graduate Institute was the entry point that made this path possible: without my degree, I would not have joined Sea-Watch as a legal advisor, applying international law directly to the realities of migration at sea. Today, returning as a Visiting Lecturer allows me to “give back” what I have witnessed at sea and to help students connect academic knowledge with real-world practice.
What advice would you give to current Institute students for their future careers?
Use your time at the Institute to discover where you truly want to make a difference, and then pursue that focus with conviction. You don’t need to excel in every subject — your added value will be in the areas that inspire your passion and commitment. At the same time, push the Institute to stay connected to reality, because what we study in books often differs dramatically from practice. Human rights and international law remain deeply relevant, but they require constant defence. Keeping theory accountable to practice is the responsibility of every new generation of students, scholars, and practitioners.
This article was published in Globe #36, the Graduate Institute Review.
