Armando Iannucci

Ava Lee

Carissa Véliz

Christopher Wylie

Dr. Adio-Adet Dinika

Dr. Julie Posetti

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

Isobel Cockerell 

Khalid Abdalla 

Kumi Naidoo

Lars Sellien

Luka Gviniashvili

Matthew Janney

Nadia Beard

Natalia Antelava

Oliver Bullough

Peter Geoghegan

Peter Pomerantsev

Rena Effendi

Ryan Broderick

ZEG London: Stories That Connect Us

As a natural progression of the ZEG Storytelling Festival — an annual event held in Tbilisi, Georgia — ZEG is evolving into a global platform powered by Coda’s award-winning investigative journalism. More than just a series of events, it is a dynamic hub for storytelling and collaboration, dedicated to amplifying voices and ideas that reimagine what comes next for our world.

ZEG Network

Mind-expanding stories, unexpected connections, and a Georgian feast, brought to you by CODA Media and Tbilisi's legendary ZEG Festival.

The Old Finsbury Town Hall

ZEG London: Stories That Connect UsPower hides in plain sight: in algorithms that decide what we see, in oligarchs who shape what we believe, in borders that erase entire peoples. But patterns emerge when we connect the dots between colonial blueprints and Silicon Valley dreams, between stories we're told and realities we live, between resistance movements spanning continents and centuries.Join us for a full day of aha moments, unexpected connections and mind-expanding stories as we discover what becomes possible when we see the architecture beneath the chaos. In partnership with <a href="https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/about/schools/communication-creativity" title="https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/about/schools/communication-creativity" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The School of Communication and Creativity, at City St George’s, University of London </a>this immersive experience brings together journalists, artists, activists, and thinkers to explore how power operates across time, space, and systems."Zeg" means the day after tomorrow in one of the world's most ancient languages: Georgian.ZEG started as a <a href="http://zegfest.com/" title="http://zegfest.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">storytelling festival in Tbilisi</a> and is now traveling the world, creating spaces where stories come alive and everyone gets to join the conversation. Powered by award-winning journalism from <a href="http://codastory.com/" title="http://codastory.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Coda Story</a>, ZEG London will explore how power operates across borders and systems. From the colonial legacies that shape today's tech empires to the resistance movements rewriting tomorrow's possibilities, together we’ll trace the threads connecting global power structures to local realities, individual stories to collective movements for change.ZEG Supra: Join our team and speakers for ZEG Supra, our spin on Georgia's ancient storytelling tradition, hosted by celebrated chef Tekuna Gachechiladze. This communal feast extends the day's conversations over exceptional Georgian food and wine. <ul><li>Date: October 18, 2025</li><li>Time: Event:10:00am - 7:00pm; Dinner: 8:00 pm</li><li>Duration: Full day event, with an optional dinner starting at 8pm</li><li>Festival Location: The Old Finsbury Town Hall, London</li><li>Dinner Location: The Brewery - 52 Chiswell St, London EC1Y 4SA</li></ul>Speakers and a detailed programme to be announced soon. Stay tuned for an unforgettable day of stories that connect us all.ZEG London is presented in partnership with The School of Communication and Creativity at City St George’s, University of London – a leading centre for storytelling, media and performing arts in the heart of the capital.___________________________________ Brought to you by ZEG Network Powered by award-winning journalism from Coda Story, ZEG’s original parent company, ZEG Network unites investigative reporters, artists, activists, and thinkers to explore the stories shaping our collective future. The natural evolution of ZEG Fest, Tbilisi’s renowned storytelling festival, this initiative creates spaces for urgent, cross-border conversations that challenge dominant narratives. Through deep journalism and creative collaboration, we work to amplify voices and ideas that reimagine what comes next for our world.

Agenda

Doors Open & Welcome

How do we find strength in our past, reckon with our history, and remember where we came from? Four speakers share their fights to hold onto their identity in a shifting world — against empires that erase us, algorithm-fueled movements that divide our families, and wars that shake the ground beneath our feet.

Matthew Janney - Ryan Broderick - Rena Effendi - Natalia Antelava 

Coda Live: Stories that Connect Us

Power creeps into our lives in ways we don't notice. Legendary South African activist Kumi Naidoo has traced how environmental destruction follows old colonial routes, Ukrainian-British writer Peter Pomerantsev’s pioneering research on disinformation has revealed the architecture of modern power wars, and historian Anna Whitelock has studied how monarchy has built power structures across centuries. In a conversation moderated by Natalia Antelava, they decode the operating systems that shape our lives.

Townhall: Decoding Power

Quick Break

As the most watched genocide in human history unfolds on our screens, two Middle Eastern storytellers - actor and activist Khalid Abdalla and writer Ghaith Abdul-Ahad - reflect on the politics of storytelling in times of war, from 9/11 to today. They explore whose voices blast out, whose get buried, and how those choices create solidarity or silence.

The Legacies We Carry

Lunch Break

In our algorithm-driven age, is art the most reliable rebel? Kumi Naidoo and Nadia Beard explore how art and culture can light up new paths to change when old institutions fail us. VENUE: Great Hall

Parallel Session - Unleashing Artivism

Dr. Julie Posetti and Ryan Broderick break down how digital spin works; how platforms lobby our governments and throttle movements against them, and how we can continue to shine a light on big tech. VENUE: Council Chamber

Parallel Session - Propaganda Wars: Disinformation & Press Freedom

People vs Big Tech and Global Witness experts, Ava Lee and Lars Sellien, will be in conversation with Jane Martinson to reveal the tricks they use to catch platforms lying: testing disinfo ads, tracing secret influence, and turning data into stories that hold tech giants to account. VENUE: Yellow Room

Parallel Session - Investigating Big Tech

What’s left for photography in a world jammed with visual data? In conversation with Inga Thordar, Rena Effendi looks back on two decades of capturing upheaval and imagines how images must evolve when our feeds never stop. VENUE - Studio 5

Parallel Session - Pixels of Power: How Photography Breaks Through the Noise

Join Oliver Bullough as he links a secret sale of Brompton Road tube station to the global meltdown of democracy. Together with investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan and corruption investigator Sue Hawley, he’ll dive into today's money wars - with its billionaire puppet masters, shadowy political funders, and the dirty tricks that buy influence. They’ll also imagine the wild strategies we’d need to outwit oligarchs and flip the power switch.

From Tube Station to Statecraft: The New Money Game

Silicon Valley’s overlords promise us a future of abundance: one where the world’s problems are solved and peace is within reach. But those promises come at a cost. The steady capture of every corner of our existence, from our conversations, to our work, to our love lives. Kicking off with a live show on AI’s evangelists, Isobel Cockerell is then joined by Carissa Véliz and Dr. Adio-Adet Dinika to probe the moral stakes of our on-demand world, and to ask who ultimately pays the price for Silicon Valley’s fever-dreams.

Captured

Drinks

Can creativity save us from the mess we are in? Whistle-blower Christopher Wylie and satirist Armando Iannucci team up to figure out whether satire and wild ideas can tear down old power, reboot trust, and sketch a new world, or if we’re beyond hope.

Creativity to the Rescue

Activist Luka Gviniashvili and musician Oliver Poole close ZEG London with a performance about resistance, the battle for Georgia’s future, and the lessons from Tbilisi’s protests that apply to us all.

The Final Act

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ZEG London: Stories That Connect Us

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ZEG London: Stories That Connect Us

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