Abstract
Just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the summer edition of the Index on Censorship magazine was launched at the Goethe Institut in west London in July. Debating the extent of our freedom in modern Europe, speakers included playwright David Edgar; academic and writer Timothy Garton Ash; V&A museum director Martin Roth; Polish LGBT activist Tomasz Kitlinski; and journalists Kate Maltby and Sebastian Borger. Afterwards, audience members – including Index supporters, journalists and activists – carried on the discussion on the terrace.
In June, Index brought together five prominent journalists and activists from Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan to address increasing threats to digital freedom. The discussion – which took place in Brussels – was hosted by Index’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg, and sponsored by Google. The panel included: Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist; Anton Nossik, blogger and founding editor-in-chief of several Russian news websites; Dr Yaman Akdeniz, founder and director of Cyber-Rights.org and professor of law at Istanbul Bilgi University; Amberin Zaman, Turkish correspondent for The Economist; and Azerbaijani blogger Arzu Geybulla. The main focus was what the EU should be doing to curb attacks and protect those under threat.
During the World Cup in Brazil, Index highlighted free expression concerns in the 32 participating countries by publishing statistics cards for each nation ahead of each game. Countries were awarded a score based on democracy, civil liberties, press freedom, net freedom and corruption. Those will poor tallies were handed a red or yellow card, with the four worst (Iran, Cameroon, Nigeria and Russia) forming Index’s “group of death”.
To support and develop Index’s work with young people, a youth advisory board has been established and the first meeting was held – via Google Hangouts – in June. The eight members from around the world, who all applied through Index’s website, will hold monthly discussions on free speech issues and will inform Index’s future work. One of their roles includes coming up with questions for the Draw the Line debates, where each month a new freedom of expression question is posed to the public, who are encouraged to have their say via social media, offline workshops and by contributing themed content to the Index Young Writers’ Programme. Questions so far have included: “Can art or journalism ever be terrorism?” and “Should free speech offending countries be excluded from global sports tournaments?”
What should the EU be doing to curb attacks on digital freedom and protect those under threat?
In May, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that individuals had “a right to be forgotten” online and search engines needed to respond to citizens’ requests to take down information deemed out of date, irrelevant or excessive. Index’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg was invited on to TV and radio shows, including the BBC and Channel 4 News. She argued that a regulatory framework and appeals process are needed to ensure that private corporations do not become the arbiters of public information.
ABOVE: Nigerian human rights lawyer Rommy Mom visiting the Index on Censorship office
Credit: ???
Index was privileged to have a visit from the first editor of Index on Censorship, Michael Scammell, this spring. It was fascinating to hear more about the early years of the organisation. The contribution of Nadine Gordimer, the Nobel Prize-winning author and Index patron who died in July, was acknowledged in a collection of her writing for the magazine, which was collated on the website of our publisher, Sage. Index is very grateful for her support and that of former board member Dan Jacobson, another one of South Africa’s leading novelists, who died in June.
Since the 2014 Index awards, nominees and winners have also been hard at work. Arts nominee Meltem Arikan has finished writing the script to her new play Sheep Republic, while fellow playwright and nominee Lucien Bourjeily has also been working on a new play, the sequel to Will It Pass Or Not?, which was banned in Lebanon. Digital activism award winner Shubhranshu Choudhary has been busy implementing a new project in rural India for CGNet Swara, using arts and puppetry to teach locals how to report news through their mobile phones. Nigerian lawyer Rommy Mom, who visited the Index offices in May to speak about the consequences of the country’s Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which has seen Nigerians imprisoned and murdered for being gay; he continues to offer support to those in the country who suffer human rights violations. David Cecil, who was deported from Uganda after staging what was deemed a “pro-gay” play in the country, is planning to open film schools in several African countries, including Tunisia, and hopes to move back to Africa soon. As we went to press, the winner of Index’s journalism award Azadliq – one of the few remaining independent media outlets in Azerbaijan – has been forced to suspend publication due to a financial crisis.
Preparations are already under way for the next awards ceremony in March 2015, so look out for the nomination form on Index’s website from 13 October. Please think about nominating organisations and individuals who are doing great work, often against the odds, to fight for freedom of expression.