CHMK, London: The Chair of Kurdish Media Watchdog (CHMK), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas, participated in the 10th anniversary of the Media Democracy Festival 2026 that was hosted by the Media Reform Coalition (MRC) in London. The landmark event brings together prominent journalists, media reform advocates, policymakers, and academics to challenge corporate media monopolies and map out democratic alternatives for the public sphere.
The intensive one-day festival features a diverse programme centred around corporate accountability, independent journalism infrastructure, and the urgent restructuring of the digital commons. The Chair of CHMK emphasised the profound structural relevance of these debates for transitional and post-conflict regions.
“Such a festival is crucial for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq because it needs more and more public debate on redefining the roles and responsibilities of the media and journalists in post-conflict societies,” Dr. Shwan Adam Aivas noted. “For that reason, CHMK’s efforts in reforming Kurdish media are timely and crucial for this age of AI.”
The festival kicked off with a high-level opening panel in Room MG14 titled “The Future of Public Media”, featuring key insights from leading civil society and advocacy groups, including Tom Mills and Tom Chivers from the Media Reform Coalition (MRC); Jaldeep Katwala from the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity; Hannah Perry (Demos); Anna Shea (Equity); and Liz Pendleton (Media Revolution). Following the opening plenary, the summit split into specialised parallel sessions:
Session 1 (10:45 – 12:00): Addressed the tech duopoly and structural media reform. Key panels included “Make Big Tech Work for Us: Google, AI & the Future of Distribution” (Room M322), chaired by Thomas Barlow, and a dedicated session on “Media Ownership” (Room M323) featuring Clive Lewis MP and Donnadhadh McCarthy. Concurrently, a workshop on “News Club Network” tackled the expansion of public media literacy.
Session 2 (13:00 – 14:15): Focused on citizen mobilisation, featuring a “Media Consumer Union” workshop, a tactical panel on audience agency titled “Owning the Signal: Building Audience Power Beyond Big Tech”, and an introductory “Media Democracy 101” framework run by Debs Grayson.
Session 3 (14:30 – 15:45): Explored financial and political pressures via the panels “Who Pays for Democracy?”, chaired by Lexie Kirkconnell Kawana (Impress), and “Media Censorship” (Room M323), chaired by journalist Hamza Yusuf, featuring prominent media voices including Sangita Myska (The Nerve & Zeteo) and Mark Curtis (Declassified UK).
The festival concluded with an open-floor “People’s Assembly on the Future of Public Media” and a closing keynote address by Prof. Des Freedman, Founder of MRC & Co-Director of Goldsmiths Leverhulm Media Research Center.
CHMK’s high-level engagement at the Media Democracy Festival directly aligns with the preparation vectors for the 3rd CHMK National Forum for Media Reform, scheduled for 8–9 July 2026 at SOAS, University of London. By participating in these structural debates alongside core partners like the MRC, CHMK continues to strengthen its international academic and policy bridges, synthesising global media justice models to help refine Kurdistan’s upcoming 10-year Strategic Policy Roadmap.
For more updates on CHMK’s international activities and the upcoming London Forum, visit:
forum.chmk.org
