Citizen Communication in a Crisis as the World-Order is changing
Part of IBC 2025
About
The IET Media Technical Network is delighted to once again be part of IBC 2025. We are running five Owner Sessions exploring the evolution, challenges, and future of global television.
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Citizen Communication in a Crisis as the World-Order is changing
The days are numbered where citizens of a country gather round a radio or television at the first sign of an emergency or crisis in their country. These days the first sign of an emergency is likely to be shared on social media, that won’t necessarily provide accurate, up-to-date information or instructions. As broadcasters migrate their services to internet delivery and governments work with mobile providers to provide emergency messaging services, this event will explore the history of emergency messaging, what the situation is today, and what the roadmap for future development looks like.
The IET has gathered a panel of European experts across broadcasting, service provision and government to share their insights and provide their perspectives on what the next few years look like and, given the current geo-political tensions, whether plans need to change or accelerate.
Moderated by Stephen Stewart
Contributors:
Kadi Luht-Kallas, Advisor for Emergency Communication at the Estonian Ministry of the Interior
Simon Farnsworth, CTO ITV
Martti Kinkar, Director of Development & Innovation, Levira
Mark Moran, Head of Technology Resilience, BBC
Register your interest for this session
You can register your interest for this session using the registration button on this page.
Please note that this session is being run as part of IBC 2025. You will need to register at least for an exhibition ticket at www.ibc.org. You may use the IET exhibition registration code IBC9002 to ensure this is free right up to the event itself.
1
Continuing Professional Development
This event can contribute towards your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours as part of the IET's CPD monitoring scheme.
12 Sep 2025
4:30pm - 5:15pm
Organiser
- Media TN
Speakers
Kadi Luht-Kallas PhD
Adviser - Estonian Ministry of the Interior
Since 2021, Kadi has been working as an Advisor for Emergency Communication at the Estonian Ministry of the Interior. She is responsible for issues such as the 112 service (e.g. NG112, accessibility), the state helpline and public warning (EE-ALARM).
Kadi holds a PhD in Education from the University of Tartu and has an extensive background as a lecturer and researcher in risk-taking behaviour, fire risk analysis and prevention work. Since 2021, she has also been coordinating a multidisciplinary project team to integrate a multichannel warning platform in Estonia.
Mark Moran
Head of Technology Resilience - BBC
Mark Moran is Head of Technology Resilience at the BBC, leading strategic resilience planning and major incident response across the organisation’s critical national infrastructure.
With a 32 year career at the BBC, Mark brings deep expertise in resilience and crisis management, along with operational leadership across a breadth of technology related services.
Martti Kinkar
Head of Innovation and Development - Levira
Martti joined Levira about 7 years ago to help with the media services development and projects. Having previously worked for a telecom company, Tele2, for some 6+ years, where he mastered product management, technical project management and technical build, launching tens of services on to the market and also running the implementation projects – he got very experienced in business development and also technical development.
Martti has always been the person who needs to know what makes different things tick - so naturally he took the things apart, learned and put them back together again (most of the time).
Currently Martti is heading the innovation and development team at Levira – responsible for all the innovative new services and models we bring to the market, but also presales support and the delivery aspect towards the customers.
As an ex-Estonian Olympic Team sailor, Martti can often be found offshore racing. Keeping fit, participating in the defence forces training as a reservist (Cyber defence and media operations unit) and enjoying the free time with his family keep the energy levels high.
Simon Farnsworth
CTO - ITV
Simon Farnsworth brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record to his role as Chief Technology Officer at ITV. With a background marked by successful leadership in the media and entertainment industry, Simon has consistently demonstrated his ability to drive innovation and spearhead digital transformations.
Before joining ITV, Simon served as News UK's EVP, Chief Technology Officer. In this capacity, he played a pivotal role in ensuring the optimal structure, architecture, and talent needed to deliver world-class products to an audience of nearly 40 million people each month. Simon's responsibilities extended to overseeing all facets of News UK's technology infrastructure, collaborating closely with various brands to guarantee a high-quality user experience across publishing and broadcasting platforms.
Simon has previously served as CEO of GlobeCast Australia and subsequently as Head of Telstra Broadcast Services, and prior to his role at News UK, Simon held key positions at Discovery, where he spent six years contributing to the organisation's global footprint. His last position at Discovery was as CTO, Broadcast Technology & Operations, where he managed a global team and played a crucial role in shaping the company's technological direction.
Simon Farnswoth’s strategic vision and hands-on experience position him as a valuable asset to ITV, as the company continues to navigate the dynamic landscape of technology in the media industry.
Stephen Stewart
COO - Levira Media Services
A television and radio professional with over 40 years in the industry, Stephen has enjoyed roles as varied as commercial producer, gallery director for tv programmes ranging from Formula 1 to UK Parliament, and continuity announcer/presenter for BFBS. For many years the military community across the world could hear Stephen’s voice introducing programmes on the BFBS Television service.
As well as TV production, Stephen is experienced in TV playout and media services having worked for the BBC (Public Service and Studios), Channel 4, Red Bee Media and Deluxe.
The early lure of AI and machine learning saw Stephen move into the advertising technology space with Mirriad Advertising before becoming COO at Take 1 Script Services where he was responsible for the Operations, Product and Media Technology teams, delivering thousands of hours of transcription, dubbing and access services to some of the world’s largest production companies and networks.
Stephen joined Levira’s UK operation as COO early in 2025 and is looking forward to leveraging Levira’s innovative thinking and scale to launch a brand-new playout and media distribution offer for the UK, from the UK. Levira’s new Playout Centre has just opened in Leeds on 1st September.
Stephen is well connected across this industry and is an advisor to Media organisations, the Motion Picture Association’s TPN Ambassador for the UK & EMEA, a member of the IET Media Technical Committee and an active contributor to the Rise Up Academy, as well having served a term of three years as Vice Chair of the Royal Television Society’s Technology Centre.