LIVE: Closing Spaces – How do media and civil society fight back?

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – The International Media Support (IMS) and the Danish National Commission for UNESCO host a debate seminar on Thursday, November 16, in Copenhagen on the “Closing Spaces” of media, civil society organizations, and human rights defenders.

IMS will place the safety of journalists, as well as IMS’ new publication “Defending Journalism,” within the broader theme of closing spaces. 

Below are the panelists:

• Saskia Brechenmacher – Associate Fellow at Carnegie’s Democracy and Rule of Law Program, Washington DC and author of “Civil Society under assault – repression and responses in Russia, Egypt and Ethiopia” (2017) and “Closing space: Democracy and human rights under fire” (2014). 

• Maria Ressa – CEO and executive editor of Rappler, a Philippine independent news media platform combining professional journalism with citizen journalism. Rappler’s reports on government corruption and President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs have led to daily harassment. 

• Konstantin Baranov – Russian human rights defender from the International Youth Human Rights Movement. He will discuss how legal tools are used in Russia in a nationwide campaign of inspections and administrative harassment of critical non-governmental organizations.

• Jesper Højberg – Executive Director of IMS, working with local media in countries plagued by conflict and authoritarian regimes. He will speak on safeguarding local media and human rights defenders in countries where the space for freedom of expression is closing. 

The moderator for the panel is Anna Libak, a senior Danish journalist and former foreign editor of the Berlingske Tidende newspaper with an expertise in international affairs.

Here’s the first part:

 – Rappler.com