In Europe and the U.S., the question of refugees has been a crucial issue for the rise of the extreme right and, in turn, for a systematic attack on the role and independence of journalists. Are there similar dynamics in place in Turkey and other countries on the Mediterranean? Or are the question of refugees and the question of the rise of authoritarian impulses separate issues outside the EU and U.S.? The European Union Center's 14th annual Turkish Studies Symposium, "Freedom of the Press at the Borders of Europe: Turkey and the Mediterranean," brings together three journalists who have reported extensively on migrants and refugees in Turkey and beyond to discuss the state of the freedom of the press in Turkey and the Mediterranean today. Please register here.
Panelists:
Asmae Dachan is a Syrian-Italian freelance journalist, poet, and writer. She is a contributor to several Italian newspapers and magazines such as Avvenire, Vita non Profit, Senza Filtro, Venerdì di Repubblica, and Confronti, focusing on the Middle East, migration, inter-religious dialogue, and international terrorism. Dachan has won several journalistic and literary awards. In 2019, she received from the President of the Italian Republic the nomination of “Cavaliere” of the Italian Republic. She is Ambassador of Peace of the University for Peace – Switzerland and a volunteer rescuer of the Italian Red Cross.
Anna Lekas Miller is a London-based journalist, focussing on the ways that borders and immigration controls impact people around the world. She has covered stories of migrants and refugees everywhere from Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey to the United Kingdom and the United States with a special focus on the political rhetoric and media narratives surrounding migration. She is currently working on her first book, Love in the Time of Borders and writes a weekly newsletter covering both love and borders that you can sign up for here. You can also follow her on Twitter: @agoodcuppa.
Giacomo Zandonini is a Swiss-Italian journalist whose work explored mobility, identities and European policies in the Mediterranean and West Africa. He published for Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, Mediapart, Deutsche Welle, The Correspondent, The New Humanitarian and other media outlets. He contributed to investigations highlighting human rights violations, surveillance programmes, corruption and diversion of public funds. He received a Migration Media Award in 2017 and a special mention at the Trues Story Award in 2019.
This symposium is co-sponsored by the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center. EU Center events are generously supported by Title VI funding from the U.S. Department of Education and by a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence grant from the European Union.
