Despite the political courage and the enthusiastic hope that framed the democratic shift in the region of Central Europe in the 1990s, the last decade of its socio-political development has been marked by the process of significant democracy backsliding. The rise of populism, authoritarianism, nationalism, and the diminishing of the free press represent some of the most alerting signs of this complex transformation. What are the images that symbolise this dangerous trend and what are the images that stand against it? How can we understand and see the public realm as a contested iconosphere? The public discussion programme is part of the Fotograf Festival and is organised in collaboration with the Fresh Eye platform and the National Gallery in Prague.