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[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1569408985014{margin-top: -50px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”45px”][vc_custom_heading text=”ABOUT THE AWARDS” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner disable_element=”yes”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”45px”][vc_custom_heading text=”FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS 2022″ font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column_inner el_class=”awards-inside-desc” width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/Xc486MkHdig”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” disable_element=”yes”][vc_column_inner el_class=”awards-inside-desc” width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/Xc486MkHdig”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” el_class=”tpl_awards” css=”.vc_custom_1488298822902{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”117478″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Gala” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:20|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text el_class=”mw600″]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”118773″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Awards-sponsorship-package.pdf”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” disable_element=”yes” el_class=”tpl_awards” css=”.vc_custom_1652348786435{margin-bottom: 25px !important;background-color: #0a0a0a !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”114257″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”“The Freedom of Expression Awards are a chance to recognise the astonishing work being done in extraordinary circumstances by artists, journalists, and campaigners around the world. Through exercising the simple right that we take for granted – the right to freely express themselves – they risk everything. The Freedom of Expression Awards bring their stories to light, recognise their courageous actions, and underscore how important it is to protect freedom of expression. We have some truly fantastic nominees this year, and I very much look forward to sharing their stories with you.“
Ruth Smeeth, CEO, Index on Censorship” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” disable_element=”yes” el_class=”tpl_awards” css=”.vc_custom_1652348396518{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”mw600″]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” el_class=”tpl_awards” css=”.vc_custom_1569441094124{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS FELLOWSHIP” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” disable_element=”yes” el_class=”tpl_awards” css=”.vc_custom_1652348831224{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”MEET THE JUDGES” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Alison Jackson” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center”][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text el_class=”mw600″]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Ben Preston” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center”][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text el_class=”mw600″]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Coco Fusco” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center”][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text el_class=”mw600″]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Trevor Philips” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center”][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text el_class=”mw600″]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” disable_element=”yes” el_class=”tpl_awards” css=”.vc_custom_1652348831224{margin-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”NOMINEES FOR THE 2022 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”mw600″]
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner disable_element=”yes”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”104535″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/01/awards-2019/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”105881″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/01/awards-2019/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column][awardsListing name=”Awards” category_id=”8935″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”30″ element_width=”2″ item=”mediaGrid_Default” grid_id=”vc_gid:1652355948595-51d8250d-a8e4-5″ taxonomies=”37746″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” disable_element=”yes” el_class=”text_white” css=”.vc_custom_1569443780053{margin-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #cb3000 !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Awards.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:26|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1559988967479{background-image: url(https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/awards-2019fellows.jpg?id=105848) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”Tatyana Zelenskaya” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2021%2F09%2Farts-2021%2F”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Abdelrahman ‘Moka’ Tarek” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2021%2F09%2Fcampaigning-2021%2F|title:Campaigning%202021″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Samira Sabou” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2021%2F09%2Fjournalism-2021%2F|title:Journalism%202021″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading text=”Trustees’ Award” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”Dr Arif Ahmed” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2021%2F09%2Ftrustees-2021%2F|title:Trustees%E2%80%99%20Award%202021″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”117474″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2021/09/arts-2021/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”117475″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2021/09/campaigning-2021/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”117476″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2021/09/journalism-2021/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”117477″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2021/09/trustees-2021/”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner disable_element=”yes”][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”|||”][vc_custom_heading text=”For artists and arts producers whose work challenges repression and injustice and celebrates artistic free expression
Click here to see the 2022 nominees” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2021%2F09%2Farts-2021%2F”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”For activists and campaigners who have had a marked impact in fighting censorship and promoting freedom of expression
Click here to see the 2022 nominees” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2021%2F09%2Fcampaigning-2021%2F|title:Campaigning%202021″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”For courageous, high-impact and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression
Click here to see the 2022 nominees” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2F2021%2F09%2Fjournalism-2021%2F|title:Journalism%202021″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The 2021 Freedom of Expression Awards were sponsored by Facebook, Microsoft,
Times and Sunday Times, and Sage.
If you are interested in sponsorship you can contact [email protected]
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”117061″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]Threats to free speech and free expression come in many guises. In the year since I’ve joined the team at Index, I’ve used this blog to highlight issues as diverse as journalists being assassinated in Afghanistan to the threats of new British legislation on online harms.
One of recurring themes of my blogs has been the way in which authoritarian regimes and groups use every tool at their disposal to repress their populations. From Belarus to Myanmar, from Modi to Trump, we’ve seen global leaders act against their own populations to hold onto power and stop dissent.
For an organisation such as Index it would be easy to think that our job was solely to highlight the worst excesses of these despots, to shine a spotlight on their actions and to celebrate the work and activities of those inspirational people who stand up against this tyranny. And of course, that’s exactly what we were founded to do. But as the world moves on and technology and finance facilitate new ways of communicating to the world, Index also has a responsibility to investigate, analyse and expose the impact of some countries beyond their borders.
Over the course of the last year, Index’s attention has been drawn to the fact that there have been multiple high-profile examples of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) using its influence beyond its border in order to manipulate the world’s view of China and what it means to be Chinese:
Since the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in June 2020, universities in the UK and in the US have reportedly had to change the way they teach certain courses – grading papers by number not name, asking students to present anonymised work of others so nothing can be attributed to an individual student and limited debate in lectures. All in order to make sure that the students are protected, and their families aren’t targeted at home in China.
In September 2020 Disney released a new film – Mulan. This film not only represents Mulan as Han Chinese rather than Mongolian as she likely was in the legend, but it was also filmed, in part, in Xinjiang province, home of the persecuted Uighur community. Seemingly an effort to change the narrative on the ongoing Uighur genocide happening in Xinjiang.
In October 2020, a scheduled exhibition on Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire in Nantes, France was postponed – not because of Covid19 but because the CCP reportedly attempted to change the narrative of the exhibition, attempting to rewrite history.
It is clear that the CCP is using soft (sharp) power in a concerted effort to censor dissent and to create a narrative that is in keeping with Xi Jinping’s vision in an effort to secure international support for the CCP, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. We have no idea how strategic or vast this level of censorship is. What we do know is that it is happening across Europe and beyond.
It is in this vein that I’m delighted to be able to tell you about a new workstream for Index:
#BannedbyBeijing will seek to analyse and expose the extent to which China is trying to manipulate the conversation abroad.
Next week I’m delighted that we have an amazing panel to get the ball rolling and to establish how big an issue this is.
So join Mareike Ohlberg, Tom Tugendhat MP, Edward Lucas and our Chair Trevor Phillips, on Wednesday as they start this vital conversation. You can sign up here >> https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/banned-by-beijing-is-china-censoring-europe-tickets-162403107065[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][three_column_post title=”You may also want to read” category_id=”41669″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Clockwise from top left: Poet Stephen Spender, codebreaker and historian Peter Calvocoressi, biographer Elizabeth Longford (© National Portrait Gallery, London) and philosopher Stuart Hampshire (The British Academy)
The founding story of Index is such an emotive one, at least for me. A challenge was laid at the feet of some of the great and the good – a global call for solidarity with those thinkers and creative beings who were living under a repressive regime. Supporting those dissidents who were standing against totalitarianism. Providing hope, solidarity and most importantly a platform to publish their work, to tell their stories.
50 years ago this week, four extraordinary people signed our charitable deeds founding Index on Censorship – Stephen Spender, Elizabeth Longford, Stuart Hampshire and Peter Calvocoressi. Their vision was clear – we were to be a voice for the persecuted, providing a home for dissident writers, scholars and artists and to shine a light on the actions of repressive regimes. You can read more on our amazing founders here – www.indexoncensorship.org/50yearsofindex
I think we’ve lived up to their vision.
Over the last half century, with the help of so many, we’ve featured the works of inspirational dissident writers from Vaclav Havel to Salman Rushdie to Ma Jian. We’ve covered every aspect of censorship throughout the world from journalists being assassinated to governments restricting access to the internet. We’ve run successful campaigns on issues as varied as libel reform in the UK to hate speech. We’ve exhibited the work of artists and writers from repressive regimes at the Tate Modern and the British Library. And we’ve supported more than 80 Freedom of Expression award winners in the last 20 years – telling their stories and supporting their work.
There have been heartbreaking moments throughout our history, as friends were arrested for demanding their rights to free speech, as protesters were gunned down by repressive regimes, as democratic countries became more authoritarian and people because increasingly silenced. Our hearts bled, but our determination to be their voice, to fight with them and for them became stronger and stronger.
Birthdays provide a moment for reflection. By their very nature, you explore the past – what went well, what didn’t? What should we be doing in the years ahead, what should we be focusing on. On our 50th birthday, what is clear is that our work is not done. That too many people are still being silenced, so we will keep fighting the good fight.
Because of the impact of Covid-19 we aren’t going to get to have a big birthday party this month (although I’m adamant we will to celebrate 50 years of the magazine next year), but we won’t let our 50th birthday go unmarked either
You’ll have seen our new branding for Index. Next month we’ll have a new design for the magazine, which I hope you’ll love – the team have done an amazing job. We have lots of plans for the months ahead – and I hope that you’ll be with us for the fights ahead.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][three_column_post title=”You may also want to read” category_id=”41669″][/vc_column][/vc_row]