Sophie L. Vériter • Oxford Graduate Academic Public Speaker

Sophie Pomme

Speaking

When we connect and exchange ideas, not only do we learn, we create new networks. New systems. New communities.

In that moment, we glimpse the world not just through our own eyes, but through those of everyone else in the room.

Hi! I’m Sophie

Hi! I’m Sophie, but my friends call me Pomme. I was born in Belgium, educated in Europe, and now exploring the world to understand how we can make it a better place.

I currently work as a doctoral researcher (PhD) at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs in The Hague. In my research, I analyse government responses to misinformation. I also teach to undergraduate students and regularly participate in global events as speaker and moderator.

I hold a Masters degree (MPhil) in European Politics and Society from the University of Oxford and have a decade of experience as a consultant in public diplomacy, strategic communication, and global peace and security. Former clients include the European Commission and NATO.

Recent Engagements

In the past 10 years, Sophie has spoken at over 200 events ranging from academic conferences to school visits and client briefings, with audiences up to 5000 people.

Milton Wolf Seminar on Media and Diplomacy, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna and University of Pennsylvania, Vienna, April 2025.

Gamifying Democracy, Athens Democracy Forum, Democracy and Culture Foundation and The New York Times; speaker, Athens, October 2024.

“Beyond Order and Disorder: Embracing Complexity in the Global Information System”, International Studies Association Annual Conference; panellist, San Francisco, April 2024.

“World Forum for Democracy”, Council of Europe; speaker, Strasbourg, November 2023.

“Europaeum Conference: Leadership in European Policy”, Freie Universität; panelist, Berlin, September 2023.

“Diplomatic Studies and International Relations”, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy”, International Studies Association Annual Conference; panelist, Montréal, March 2023.

“New Horizons in Journalism Conference”, World Press Institute; panelist, Sofia, December 2022.

“Europe Through the Lens of its Young Citizens”, House of European History; panelist, Brussels, May 2022.

“Strategic Consequences of the War in Ukraine”, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Institut Français, Leiden University, University of Bonn; moderator, The Hague (online), March 2022.

“Disinformation and online platform regulations”, NATO Civil-Military Centre of Excellence; speaker, The Hague, November 2021.

“The state of youth opinion on Europe”, European Parliamentary Research Service; panelist, Brussels (online), November 2021.

“What do European citizens want the EU to be?”, Annual Dahrendorf Memorial Lecture, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University; respondent, Oxford (online), April 2021.

Recorded Talks

In 2024, I was invited to speak at the Athens Democracy Forum, organised by the Democracy and Culture Foundation and The New York Times. On this occasion, I had the chance to give a short speech about the power of using gamification to optimise participatory and deliberative democracy.

In 2023, I was invited to participate in the World Forum for Democracy organised by the Council of Europe. I presented ‘Level Up: We Gamify Democracy’, the project I developed with eight other PhD researchers as a Europaeum Scholar.