Journalists came together at the campfire journalism festival in Dusseldorf, the capital of NRW state in Germany, and talked about both their own problems and the issues on the agenda.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the refugee influx that has increased again with the war and the energy crisis that awaits Europe have taken place at the top of the agenda topics that journalists consider important.
Journalists from Turkey discussed censorship, rights violations and authoritarianism applied to the press in Turkey at the International Journalist Association (IJA) tent. Journalist Levent Kenez, who took the scene at the session within the scope of the festival, said that along with the traditional media, social media is also trying to be controlled. Journalist Cevheri Güven also stated that the government plans to use the power of social media instead of classical media in the upcoming elections, and that the first test of the plan was made in the singer Gülşen incident.
The challenges of refugee journalism were also discussed at the IJA event tent. Journalist Ismail Sağıroğlu moderated the session with exiled journalists Engin Sağ and Selahattin Sevi while passing on their experiences.
Journalist Can Dündar, who participated in the festival, told about the problems of freedom of expression and press in Turkey under President and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan based on the comic book “Erdogan – Eine Graphic Novel”, which he prepared together with illustrator Mohamed Anwar in the main tent.
Festival participants took great interest in the IJA tent. Journalists stopped by IJA’s tent throughout the day to get information about their work.
The young IJA team also told the guests about the activities of the IJA.