– The event takes place in English. –

What happens to societies when independent journalism and access to reliable information come under increasing pressure? This conversation explores the role of independent journalism under conditions of political repression, censorship, exile, and disinformation. How can journalistic work and knowledge be preserved and shared across borders? And what role can libraries, research institutions, and cultural organisations play in protecting open and democratic spaces of knowledge?

Can Dündar, born 1961, was editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet up until it was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2016. In 2015, Dündar was arrested after Cumhuriyet had reported on the Turkish Intelligence Agency sending weapons to Syria. After an assassination attempt on his life, Dündar was able to leave Turkey in 2016. In 2020, he was sentenced in absence to 27 years in prison for espionage and aiding terrorism. He lives and works in exile in Berlin. He has shot several documentary films, written the op-ed column “Meine Türkei” for Die Zeit, and is founder and editor-in-chief for #Özgürüz (We are free), an opposition platform and web radio with an audience of 4.5 million.

Can Dündar has been awarded, amongst other prizes, Best European Journalist of the Year 2017, the Press Freedom Prize by Reporters sans frontiers, the Lew Kopelew Prize, the World Association of Newspapers‘ Golden Pen of Freedom Award, and the CPJ International Press Freedom Award. His latest publication in German is Ich traf meinen Mörder. Ein Journalist und die dunklen Seiten der Macht (2025).