IJA participated in the Exile Forum in Hamburg

IJA NEWS  –The number of journalists forced to leave their countries and practice their profession abroad due to pressure on press freedom is increasing every day. Exiled journalists come together on various platforms in the name of freedom of the press and freedom of expression and continue to seek their rights.

At the ‘Exile Media Forum’ organized by the Körber Foundation in Hamburg, Germany, the meaning of being a journalist in exile, how migration and globalization have changed the German media and the role of digitalization were discussed. The forum also discussed freedom of expression and the situation of journalists in Turkey, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar, Iran, Belarus and Russia.

The forum, which was held in Hamburg’s historic city hall, was attended by more than a hundred members of the media and journalists, including prominent figures such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, Crimean Turkish Ukrainian journalist Sevgil Musaieva, who was selected by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022, and exiled journalist Can Dündar, former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet Newspaper. IJA was represented by our Foreign Relations Coordinator Yüksel Durgut at the forum. Journalist Post, the only trilingual media magazine in the world, published with the support of IJA, attracted great interest from the participants.

Speaking at the forum, exiled journalist Can Dündar highlighted the widespread use of intimidation tactics by repressive regimes against journalists, as well as the tendency to brand them as terrorists or foreign agents. He also highlighted how the media has been captured through the sale of media outlets to pro-government businessmen.

“There is no freedom of the press in today’s Russia,” said Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, adding that in Russia people are imprisoned just for writing “peace” on a cake.
Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, talked about the increasing demand for news with the start of the conflict in Ukraine and the need for accurate news and journalism in a war environment.

The main speaker of the program, Lutfullah Najafizadeh, founder of Amo TV, talked about the current state of the media, the careers of journalists and their right to freedom of expression.

Hamed Obaidi, President of the Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization, briefed the participants on the organization’s causes, plans and future policies. Obadi said that organizations supporting journalists, media and freedom of expression should cooperate.

The forum emphasized the need to support exiled journalists to continue their professional work. Organizations that support journalists also pledged to continue their comprehensive support for exiled journalists.

The impact of artificial intelligence on journalism and the use of ChatGPT were also discussed at the forum, which was organized under the name “Young Exile Media”.

During the three-day forum, the possibilities for exiled journalists and media members to better practice their profession and ways to remove obstacles to freedom of the press and freedom of expression were discussed.