Can independent journalism survive in the age of autocracy? Bektour Iskender, co-founder of Kyrgyz news platform Kloop, reflects on the power of international investigative journalism in confronting corruption, autocracy, and neo-imperial ambition.
In Central Asia, exposing the truth comes at a price. Bektour Iskender founded Kloop to train young journalists and uncover what others wouldn’t touch: stolen billions, rigged elections, environmental devastation. His work reached far beyond Kyrgyzstan, revealing corruption networks stretching from the Caucasus to Western capitals.
For this, Kloop was silenced. Iskender went into exile. But the investigations continued. In this programme, Iskender explores how journalists across Central Asia and the Caucasus are building new forms of solidarity. How international reporting networks like OCCRP are mapping corruption across borders. And how cartography itself can become a tool—not of empire, but of resistance.
About Forum on European Culture
Who’s afraid of art? Now that tyrants are on the roll and more and more people in the West seem to be falling for the autocratic alternative, Forum on European Culture 2025 (June 25 – June 29) brings together international artists, writers, and thinkers to celebrate the subversive power of art and literature.
Speakers
June 25 – 29
Who’s afraid of art? Now that tyrants are on the roll and more and more people in the West seem to be falling for the autocratic alternative, the Forum on European Culture, created by De Balie, brings together more then 40 international artists, writers, and thinkers to celebrate the subversive power of art and literature.
Techdenkers on Journalism in the Danger Zone
‘You can kill the messenger, but not the message’ is the slogan of news platform Forbidden Stories. We speak with founder Laurent Richard about the opportunities and challenges technology brings when working in the danger zone.
Historian, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum dissects modern dictatorship. What threat do the growing autocracies pose?
