Written by CJFE / Massey College Fellow, Mostafa Al-A’sar
Our visit to Berlin has wrapped up as part of the William Southam Journalism Fellowship delegation. I joined the group as a fellow representing the (Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) and Massey College at the University of Toronto. The latter half of the trip involved numerous important meetings and encounters with media organizations, notably STERN magazine, as well as discussions with civil society groups focused on freedom of expression, clean energy, and climate, such as Clean Energy Wire (CLEW). We also attended a session with the Federal Press Conference, with the main highlight being closed meetings with diplomatic officials from both the Canadian and German governments, held at the Canadian Embassy in Berlin and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
Our discussions spanned several key topics, including:
• The dynamics of Canada-Germany relations and the contrasting media scene in both countries.
• Western media coverage of the war in Gaza, with a focus on internal debates and divisions within newsrooms around the framing.
• The ongoing export of German arms to Israel, even over a year of the war.
• Immigration and asylum issues in both Canadian and German systems.
• The European Union’s interactions with Arab regimes, particularly the balance between diplomatic interests and human rights principles without supporting oppressive governments.
• The Egyptian regime’s misuse of illegal migration file to leverage pressure on the EU.
• Restrictions on freedom of expression in Egypt.
• Climate-related violations and protection of human and cultural heritage in Egypt.
Our delegation included journalism colleagues from Canada—Ashley Fitzpatrick, an independent journalist from Newfoundland and Labrador; Jonathan Goldsbie, editor at Canadaland; and Shree Paradkar, a columnist with the Toronto Star—as well as Beatrice Senadju, an award-winning journalist and broadcaster from Ghana. Dr. Pia Kleber, professor of drama and comparative literature at the University of Toronto, led the delegation.
I hope I have fulfilled my role alongside my colleagues by amplifying the voices of the marginalized and addressing significant human rights and humanitarian concerns in a way that satisfies my conscience, with the hope of inspiring a bit of change in the landscape.
