Barbara Celis is a Spanish freelance reporter, filmmaker and communications expert currently living in Rome.
She is a journalist with over twenty years' experience working internationally as a freelance correspondent in New York, London, Taipei and Rome. Throughout her career, she has regularly contributed to leading media outlets such as El País, CTXT, El Confidencial, Rolling Stone and LA Weekly, covering politics, culture and human rights. Her work combines narrative journalism with in-depth investigation.
In addition to her reporting work, she has pursued a creative career as a documentary filmmaker and journalism lecturer. Her work has earned her recognition, including five international journalism awards such as the SIP–IAPA Excellence in Journalism award in 2015. She has also received fellowships from institutions including Fundación Gabo in 2023 and the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Fellowship in 2009. In recent years, she has specialised in climate change and development, working for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). She has developed communication strategies and authored three FAO books on climate, water and nutrition.
Barbara holds two master's degrees in journalism and a postgraduate certificate in climate change and development, all from SOAS. She currently teaches at the Escuela de Periodismo El País in Madrid.
