Serge Bambara, aka Smockey, is a hip-hop artist, producer and activist within Le Balai Citoyen, or the Citizen’s Broom, a grassroots political movement
CATEGORY: About Index
Writers and artists condemn seizure of Zaman news group
Artists and writers joined Index in condemning Turkish government’s seizure of Zaman newspaper
Index condemns seizure of Zaman
Index on Censorship condemns the seizure by Turkish courts of the newspaper Zaman, one of the country’s highest circulation newspapers.
UAE: Human rights organisations renew call for release of peaceful activists
On the third anniversary of the start of the mass trial of 94 individuals, including government critics and advocates of reform, 10 human rights organisations appeal to the government of the United Arab Emirates to release immediately and unconditionally all those imprisoned
Smockey: “Not everyone is lucky enough to have a microphone in front of them”
Searching for “dissident artists” online, you’d be forgiven for thinking they are a purely Chinese or Russian phenomenon. But for every Ai Weiwei
Serge Bambara named first Music in Exile fellow
Index on Censorship and They Will Have To Kill Us First name the Burkinabe musician and producer Smockey as the inaugural Music in Exile Fellowship
Turkey silences independent broadcaster
Index on Censorship condemns Türksat’s decision to drop independent broadcaster IMC TV’s signal.
Rachael Jolley: Threats to reaching knowledge: why libraries play a vital role
Rachael Jolley, editor of Index on Censorship magazine in a speech to the §2 – Libraries and Democracy conference in Umea, Sweden.
Pirate radio playlist
One of the UK’s most interesting historical legacies in music does not involve the actual bands that made up the British Invasion, but rather the people who played these band’s records illegally.
Turkey: Court rules journalists’ rights were violated
Index on Censorship welcomes the release of journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül. The charges against them must be dropped.
Index Awards 2017: Celebrating defenders of free expression
Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech. We believe that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution – no matter what their views.
Index’s aim is to raise awareness about threats to free expression and the value of free speech as the first step to tackling censorship.
Index relies entirely on the support of donors and readers to do our work.
We work in four ways:
Informing
Index on Censorship publishes an award-winning quarterly magazine that has featured some of the world’s best-known writers. We publish original creative writing and articles about free expression from across the globe.
Our website offers additional information to help people understand the current threats to free expression globally. And we reach a wider audience through social media.
Influencing
Each year, Index on Censorship identifies some of the greatest threats to free speech around the world and develops advocacy campaigns to push for change in legislation or public attitudes. We choose topics where our work can make a significant impact – and deliberately choose areas where others might not be focused. You can see our current areas of focus on our Campaigns and Projects work.
We use a mixture of research, reporting, direct advocacy and media campaigning to achieve our goals.
Debating
Index on Censorship believes that free expression encourages more open and tolerant societies. We actively promote debate with an exciting series of events each year to help people better understand the value of free speech. This includes performances, exhibitions, talks and concerts. We are also regularly quoted in international media on free expression issues. Read more about our current events programme here.
Supporting
Index on Censorship directly supports groups and individuals facing censorship through our Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship. The fellowship offers a year-long programme of tailored support to a small group of fellows selected for their outstanding work in the fields of journalism, arts, campaigning and digital advocacy. Read more about this innovative work here.