28 Jul 2017 | Events
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Foto: Paulo Bruscky
Lingua/gens: Tongue Performance 1996
© Konstnären och Galeria Nara Roesler
Mouth Shut, Loud Shouts is a new group exhibition at Stockholm’s Marabouparken that deals with questions of censorship and silencing deeply rooted in colonial regimes. The show will feature a reading room, which includes a selection of material from the Index on Censorship.
Mouth Shut, Loud Shouts have built a reading room to hold publications and material related to the exhibition, where attendees can spend time and read. A large part of the library is dedicated to Index on Censorship magazine, a global quarterly magazine, with reporters and contributing editors around the world. It was founded in 1972 by British poet and novelist Stephen Spender whose work focused on social injustice and class struggle. Alongside translator Michael Scammell they set up a magazine to publish the untold stories of dissidents behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ – the very first issue included a never-before-published poem, written while serving a sentence in a labour camp, by the Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and just this year it published a story by Haroldo Conti, which had never before been published in English. From the beginning, Index declared its mission to stand up for free expression as a fundamental human right for people everywhere. It was particularly vocal in its coverage of the oppressive military regimes of southern Europe and Latin America, but was also clear that freedom of expression was not only a problem in faraway dictatorships, and focused its reporting on the different ways censorship and freedom of expression operates across the whole globe.
The collection of magazines are part of an archive loaned by the Bishopsgate Institute in London, an important space for the preservation of material on the labour, cooperative, free thought, protest and LGBTQ movements since 1895.
A series of posters, free to be taken away can be found here. These new works are connected to a project called The Klinik whose aim is to bring together artists and cultural workers to discuss cases in the censoring of artistic expression. Johanna Gustavsson and Felice Hapetzeder have produced two new posters that respond to Klinik workshops held in Stockholm in Autumn 2106. On the 16 September Belit Sağ, Secil Yayali and Felice Hapetzeder will hold public workshops exploring different forms censorship activating questions of how censorship operates in the arts in Stockholm.
In addition, there are a number of publications which relate to questions the exhibition touches upon and the exhibiting artists and their work.
About the exhibition
The suppression of speech, information, language and image is expansive and operates in different ways across the globe. Works within the exhibition present how censoring can operate as a mode of marginalisation and delegitimisaiton. Whilst some work directly opposes forms of state censorship, other works deal with pervasive embodied codes of self-censorship. Importantly the work looks to practices that transgress these modes of silencing and suppression, finding spaces, avenues and aesthetic forms that leak out voices to the world and ourselves.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
When: Opens 15 September 2017
Where: Marabouparken, Löfströmsvägen 8, Sundbyberg. [email protected]
Tickets: Free
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28 Jul 2017 | Awards, Fellowship, Fellowship 2017, News and features, Turkey
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”89666″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]Digital Activism award-winner Turkey Blocks continues to monitor internet freedom in Turkey. Since the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, Turkey Blocks has expanded its use of NetBlocks, a programme which they use to track internet freedom and the flow of information online, as well as studying the impact of censorship.
Established in 2015, Turkey Blocks has served as a platform to monitor and report internet shutdowns using an open source tool it developed, which has been adopted by other organisations. With this tool, it has exposed 14 instances of mass-censorship.
Beyond monitoring internet freedom, Turkey Blocks has been campaigning using the information it gathered. According to founder Alp Toker, “We’ve put the spotlight on compliance by western corporations – elective censorship, withholding of content and geoblocking – particularly as it affects vulnerable communities in Turkey.” Staff have also been analysing the financial impacts of mass-censorship incidents. “Increasingly we find that economic criteria can succeed where human rights arguments are ignored,” Toker said.
Turkey Blocks is campaigning to make the internet more accessible from the policy side too, by gaining representation in bodies that define internet standards to “…ensure that human rights considerations are built into core infrastructure”, Toker told Index.
“The Freedom of Expression Award came at a time when Turkey faced unprecedented challenges to civil liberties and human rights. The recognition draws attention to our struggle to defend the online spaces citizens need to think freely and speak out,” Toker said. Index has connected Turkey Blocks with other human rights groups and communities that share similar goals of internet freedom.
Toker highlighted the Turkish government’s blocking of Wikipedia as a pressing concern for digital freedom in the country. Governments are unable to block individual pages, and on 29 April Turkey Blocks reported a full block of Wikipedia, which is ongoing. Toker calls this block “the ultimate act of digital self-harm…Turkish citizens are no longer able to edit articles with their own worldview; instead, they are left to watch from a distance as the international community picks up editorial control of Turkey’s history, culture and politics, defining the geopolitical narrative today and for generations to come.”
Moving forward, Turkey Blocks will work at using their measurement systems to empower ordinary citizens and independent media. “Our recent work has focused on bridging the terminology and requirements of the media freedom community with capabilities and expertise in the information security space,” Toker said.
“We’ve found that the mere act of systematic observation and record-keeping can discourage mass-censorship,” Toker told Index, so the team is working on scaling up to cover a wider geographic area, as well as pinpointing small disruptions.
From travelling and speaking at conferences, Toker emphasized that Turkey’s internet regulations are not that different from the rest of the world. “Our message on the international track is that the media freedom community needs to move faster to keep pace with innovation; it will be difficult, after all, to reclaim those spaces and win back those rights if we let go of them now.” He is adamant that digital rights are essential to other human rights, “Digital rights can seem abstract, even distant, in the context of Turkey’s national state of emergency, with ever-tightening restrictions around journalism and civil society. Yet none of those conversations can take place without a free and open internet. It’s important now, more than ever, to keep watch and to keep calling for more digital transparency and accountability from the authorities.
Additional reporting by Margaret Flynn Sapia[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1503400925088-42244ba1-c62c-10″ taxonomies=”9034″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
27 Jul 2017 | Awards, Fellowship, Fellowship 2017, News and features
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”89552″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]Following the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards in April, journalism award-winner Maldives Independent has undergone a period of change and restructuring.
Former editor Zaheena Rasheed credits the award with increased press coverage outside of the Maldives. Most significantly, Rasheed told Index that the attention from the award convinced their sponsors to continue funding them.
After an Al Jazeera documentary containing interviews with Rasheed was released, the Maldives Independent’s office was attacked and raided by police in September 2016 and Rasheed had to flee for her safety. She has since taken a role at Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar.
“The job has been very busy, but exciting, especially following a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its neighbours,” Rasheed told Index.
In late April, Yameen Rasheed, a prominent blogger and journalist, who had contributed opinion pieces in the Maldives Independent, was murdered. His death is still on the minds of those at Maldives Independent, which extensively covered the investigation into his murder.
“Yameen was a critical and brave voice who spoke out against injustice despite the crackdown on free speech. His murder has had a chilling effect on free speech in the Maldives and prompted many others to practice self-censorship. I believe he was targeted by religious extremists because of his advocacy for a more tolerant and secular society”, Rasheed said. No information has been released on the identities of the suspects in Rasheed’s murder or what charges they might face.
Maldives Independent journalist Ahmed Rilwan disappeared in August 2014. Despite the international attention these incidents have received, Rasheed is not confident that they will affect the culture of impunity that exists around attacks on critics and freethinkers.
“The biggest concern, as evident by Yameen’s murder and Rilwan’s disappearance, is that there are groups who are willing to kill in the name of Islam. They enjoy impunity because they have the protection of state bodies. State officials support them for two reasons; they think supporting radical groups bolsters their legitimacy, or they also subscribe to these views” Rasheed said.
Rasheed identifies the Maldives Independent’s biggest challenge is securing consistent and sufficient funding, something which Maldives Independent is working on now. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1509444026808-19a50408-3e9b-3″ taxonomies=”9028, 4002, 9136″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
26 Jul 2017 | Artistic Freedom, Events
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Julia Farrington, associate arts producer at Index on Censorship, will be participating in the 2017 Arts Rights Justice Forum at the University of Hildesheim.
The ARJ Forum brings together international experts to discuss on understanding, protecting and defending freedom of expression and artistic freedom in relation to human rights and social justice.
Increasingly, we are seeing restrictions being placed on freedom of artistic creation, and specific threats are being made towards artists and defenders of human rights who are engaged in social transformation processes. This highlights the importance of considering artistic creativity and the role of artists in societies where human rights and freedoms are at risk.
This public forum will address the key issues on the topic of Arts Rights Justice:
- How to protect and ensure freedom of artistic expression in times of emerging censorship?
- To what extent do relocation and escape represent a strategy for threatened artists?
- How can international coalitions sustain artistic expression and ensure that artists are protected in their working environment?
Invited Speakers:
Farida Shaheed – Former UN special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
Helge Lunde – International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN)
Mary Ann DeVlieg – International Arts and Rights Advisors (IARA)
Todd Lanier Lester – Independent expert
Diana Ramarohetra – Artwatch Africa at Arterial Network
Julia Farrington – Index on Censorship
Meriem Bousselmi – Carthage Declaration on the Protection of Artists
Anna Steinkamp – Independent culture expert
Dr. Andreas Görgen – Directorate-General for Culture and Communication at the German Federal Foreign Office
Prof. Wolfgang-Uwe Friedrich – Professor of Political Science
& selected participants of the ARJ ACADEMY 2017
Additional information about the Arts Rights Justice Forum can be found here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
When: 31 August 2017 1pm-5:30pm
Where: Vertretung des Landes Niedersachsen beim Bund, Berlin
Tickets: Free. Registration required.
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