Antónia Mészáros

Antónia is a former journalist, television host and documentary filmmaker. She has worked at the BBC in London on prestigious current affairs strands, like Panorama, Correspondent and Newsnight. Her experience included filming in hostile environments, war reporting and undercover journalism across many continents. In 2003 she was the only journalist given access to film inside the desert headquarters of the British army during the war in Iraq. She returned to her native Hungary in 2006 to anchor prime time current affairs programmes, such as “Az Este” for Hungarian public broadcasting, but continued to also direct documentaries for the BBC. One of her films - “Megtagadva”- was recognised and showcased, as “best of the year” by BBC World and later screened by the British Embassy in front of HRH Prince Charles at a cinema in Budapest. In 2011 she joined Hungarian news channel ATV and anchored live political interview programmes “Szabad Szemmel”, “Start” and “Egyenes Beszéd”.

In 2017 she left her career in the media to join the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, as Executive Director of the Hungarian National Committee. Under her leadership, UNICEF Hungary has more than doubled its revenue, created several new fundraising platforms and launched over a dozen local child rights initiatives.

Antónia has been selected as one of the most influential women in Hungary by Forbes magazine, a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a European Young Leader and an Aspen Young Leader. She is the author of a book on migration and a frequent speaker or moderator of events both at home and internationally.