As autocracies increasingly suppress free media, exile has now become a long-term phenomenon: a lifeline for journalists committed to truth-telling. This panel will explore the challenges and opportun...
Sonja Wimschulte
programme director Democracy and Cohesion Department Korber-Stiftung
Sonja Wimschulte is Programme Director in the Democracy and Cohesion Department of the Körber-Stiftung. She is responsible for the foundation's exile programme, including the Exile Media Forum. The Exile Media Forum is Germany's largest conference for journalists in exile. The two-day conference brings together over 150 journalists, politicians and NGO representatives in Hamburg. The conference focuses on new trends and methods for journalists in exile and opportunities for cooperation.
The programme also produces regular publications on the subject, most recently the Exiled Journalist Communities in Germany report. In cooperation with the Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel the programme publishes articles by exiled journalists for them to tell their stories and shed light on the situation in their home countries. To promote the values of free, independent and critical journalism for a healthy democracy the exil programme also co-organises the Hamburg Week of Press Freedom.
The Körber-Stiftung’s exile programme also provides a platform for exiled artists, for example through the Days of Exile and the Exile Visual Arts Award.
Eventi IJF 2025