From September 20-22, 2016, activists, journalists, media professionals, and influencers met at the Global Forum for Media Development’s (GFMD) fourth international conference, “Decoding the Future: Rethinking Media for a New World,” in Jakarta, Indonesia. The GFMD is a network of media assistance groups with the mission to “make media an integral part of international development strategies.” Amongst the speakers at the event was Khadija Ismayilova, an Azerbaijani investigative journalist and former political prisoner. Ismayilova couldn’t travel to the event due to a government imposed travel ban, but was able to deliver her speech remotely, via a Meydan TV video. In her message, she described the systematic crackdown on fellow journalists who have reported on corruption in Azerbaijan, including Seymur Hazi. Ismayilova called out Azerbaijan government’s elites who “enjoy the products of democracy abroad” such as medical, educational, and financial resources, but “deprive their own nation of the products of democracy.” She urged advanced democracies to block access to these resources to whoever benefits from subverting democracy in their home countries.

Leading Indonesian journalist Bambang Harymurti, also participated in a discussion on cultivating a free press in Southeast Asia. At the conference, Harymurti described the “role of the journalist as a fact checker,” and stressed the importance of reliable, high quality journalism. Harymurti is also a member of the World Movement for Democracy’s Steering Committee.