Following a successful initial pilot of Free Speech is for Me we are now preparing to offer our free speech training to a wider group of the public. We hope to make this next group bigger than ever, and the training will be free and online. If you are interested in these free sessions on free speech and free expression, with links to advocacy, activism and defending human rights please fill in this form to express your interest today.

Free speech has been critical to social movements throughout history. It has consistently been used as a powerful tool for marginalised groups to articulate their grievances and demand to be heard.

But today discussions surrounding “free speech” have unfortunately been dominated by a small number of people who seek to use it primarily to curtail the rights of others and spread hate, leading many to question it as a value.

However, when the principle of free speech is abandoned, those who already face oppression are hurt most: including people of colour, religious and ethnic minorities, and those who campaign on sex and gender issues. Free Speech is for Me aims to show how freedom of expression furthers democracy and individual liberty and benefits everyone. If we allow free speech protections to be weakened, we lose our greatest tool in advocating for change.

We are now supporting these advocates in reclaiming free speech as a fundamental right that must apply to everyone by offering training and mentoring on freedom of expression issues. This will include one on one support from leading free speech experts plus media, communications and public speaking training. They will end the programme with a clearer understanding of the challenges of censorship and the tools to overcome them.

Free Speech is for Me: Class of 2020 US

See what this year’s American intake have been doing as part of their programme.

Free Speech Is For Me advocates Obden Mondésir and Adeline Lee visit a podcast studio during a tour of production resources at YouTube Space NY.
Lillian Bustle works on an op-ed worksheet designed for Free Speech Is For Me training participants.
US Free Speech Is For Me advocate Marjory Wentworth reads poetry at an ACLU event celebrating civil liberties on February 1st in South Carolina.
During a media training, Free Speech Is For Me advocates Marjory Wentworth and Obden Mondésir review tape from a practice television interview.

Free Speech is for Me: Class of 2020

See updates from the first intake of the programme, featuring interviews with mentors and advocates.

Meet the mentors

Through training and mentoring, Free Speech is for Me is equipping people from all backgrounds and beliefs to speak out against censorship. The mentors will work with the 13 advocates to help them defend and champion the issue of free speech.

Jodie Ginsberg
CEO, Index on Censorship
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Will Gore
Columnist
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Kiri Kankhwende
Journalist and campaigner
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Meera Selva
Journalist
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Nadine Strossen
Professor of law
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Kenan Malik
Writer, lecturer and broadcaster
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Xinran
Author and journalist
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Konstantin Kisin
Comedian
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Emily Knox
Professor in the School of Information Sciences
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Will Creeley
Lawyer
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Chris Finan
Executive director, National Coalition Against Censorship
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Emma Llansó
Director, Centre for Democracy and Technology Free Expression Project
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Meet the advocates

Ash Kotak
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Athena Stevens
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Dan Clarke
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Max Lake
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Rhiannon Adams
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Maya Thomas
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Madeleine Stone
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Marjory Wentworth
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Lillian Bustle
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Mariana Nogales-Molinelli
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Maya Rubin
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Obden Mondésir
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Adeline Lee
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