WPFD 2025: How can we better support Russian and Belarusian journalists in exile?
According to the European Commission, 1,500 independent journalists and editorial newsrooms from Russia and Belarus were estimated to have fled or relocated to EU countries in 2024 alone. Our consultations with the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) concluded that there was a lack of support from the national public authorities for these journalists in a precarious situation. This is why the European Federation of Journalists, together with the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, wanted to put them at the centre of attention on UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day (WPFD).
To mark WPFD 2025, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the European Federation of Journalists – EFJ are organising a panel discussion: ‘Supporting Journalism under Severe Political Pressure: The Challenges and Opportunities’. We’ll discuss the situation of Russian and Belarusian journalists in exile.
📆 When? 6 May, from 4:00pm to 5:30pm CET
🌎 Where? Geopolis Photojournalism Centre, Le Poste, Place du Jeu de Balle, 62, Brussels.
The event will feature the participation of:
- Andrei Jvirblis, Russian journalist, JMWU International Scretary;
- Olesya Shmagun, Russian journalist, Novaya Gazeta Europe;
- Yauheny Pylchanka, Lawyer, Belarusian Association of Journalists;
- Aliaksandra Pushkina, Belarusian journalist, director of Zerkalo.io (formerly TUT.BY, the largest media outlet in Belarus)
- Nina Bachkatov, Accredited Foreign Correspondent in Moscow (1986-2017), Doctor in Political Science, editor of russia-eurasia.eu.
- Philippe Tremblay, Director of the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (OSCE RFoM);
- Moderator: Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary.
Registration: send an email to Aidar.Botagarov@osce.org
