Livestreamed Conversation with Journalists in Exile Launches New Project Kronika
Clockwise from top left: Event speakers M. Gessen, András Pethő, Ramón Zamora, and Sevgi Akarçeşme.
A livestreamed discussion marks the public launch of Kronika, a joint civic tech project of Bard College and PEN America that builds tools to protect endangered media against state censorship. Kronika’s purpose is to expand the Russian Independent Media Archive’s mission on a global scale by digitally preserving decades of independent journalism that is otherwise at risk of erasure. Funded by the Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust, Kronica will utilize AI-assisted bilingual archiving, practical tools for newsrooms in exile, and partnerships that keep the public record accessible to safeguard journalism and public memory wherever they are at risk.
The talk, “We’ve Seen This Before: Lessons from Exile on Recognizing Authoritarianism,” takes place on Wednesday, December 10, at 6 pm, and centers around a conversation with a founder of the project M. Gessen, András Pethő (Direkt36, Hungary), Ramón Zamora (El Periódico/Central America Independent Media Archive, Guatemala), and Sevgi Akarçeşme (Türkiye, in exile in New York)—journalists and thinkers who witnessed the rise of authoritarian regimes firsthand.
Moderated by PEN America’s Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, the conversation will explore the panelists’ experiences as journalists and Kronika as a tool to protect public memory. The event is also a call to connection—inviting journalists in exile and American journalists to work together to track and document the warning signs of autocracy.
Watch the Livestream on Wednesday, December 10 at 6 pm EST: journalism.cuny.edu/live/
Post Date: 12-09-2025
The talk, “We’ve Seen This Before: Lessons from Exile on Recognizing Authoritarianism,” takes place on Wednesday, December 10, at 6 pm, and centers around a conversation with a founder of the project M. Gessen, András Pethő (Direkt36, Hungary), Ramón Zamora (El Periódico/Central America Independent Media Archive, Guatemala), and Sevgi Akarçeşme (Türkiye, in exile in New York)—journalists and thinkers who witnessed the rise of authoritarian regimes firsthand.
Moderated by PEN America’s Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, the conversation will explore the panelists’ experiences as journalists and Kronika as a tool to protect public memory. The event is also a call to connection—inviting journalists in exile and American journalists to work together to track and document the warning signs of autocracy.
Watch the Livestream on Wednesday, December 10 at 6 pm EST: journalism.cuny.edu/live/
Post Date: 12-09-2025