 ICORN's logo. | |
| Formation | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Salman Rushdie, Helge Lunde |
| Type | Non-profit |
Executive Director | Helge Lunde |
| Website | icorn |
The International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) is an independent organisation of cities and regions which offers shelter to writers, journalists and artists at risk of persecution, with the goal of advancing freedom of expression. [1] [2] [3]
It is a successor organization to the Cities of Asylum Network (INCA) established in 1993 by the International Parliament of Writers (IPW) in response to the assassination of writers in Algeria. After the dissolution of IPW in 2003, its activities were continued by the ICORN Administration Center established in Stavanger, Norway, in June 2006 at the Stavanger Cultural Center, Sølvberget. One of the founders was Peter Ripken, who had also been a founding member of the Society for the Promotion of Literature from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Arab World, later LitProm, in Frankfurt, Germany. [4]
In 2010 ICORN became an independent organization, and in 2014 it voted to expand their support to artists and musicians. [1]
As of 2022, more than 70 cities have agreed to offer this kind of refuge. [1]
Since 2021, ICORN has been part of the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award, organised by the European Committee of the Regions. [5] The Award is in honour of the long- serving mayor of Gdansk Paweł Adamowicz who was assassinated in 2019. [5]
Artistic freedom can be defined as "the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors." Generally, artistic freedom describes the extent of independence artists obtain to create art freely. Moreover, artistic freedom concerns "the rights of citizens to access artistic expressions and take part in cultural life—and thus [represents] one of the key issues for democracy." The extent of freedom indispensable to create art freely differs regarding the existence or nonexistence of national instruments established to protect, to promote, to control or to censor artists and their creative expressions. This is why universal, regional and national legal provisions have been installed to guarantee the right to freedom of expression in general and of artistic expression in particular. In 2013, Ms Farida Shaheed, United Nations special rapporteur to the Human Rights Council, presented her "Report in the field of cultural rights: The right to freedom of expression and creativity" providing a comprehensive study of the status quo of, and specifically the limitations and challenges to, artistic freedom worldwide. In this study, artistic freedom "was put forward as a basic human right that went beyond the 'right to create' or the 'right to participate in cultural life'." It stresses the range of fundamental freedoms indispensable for artistic expression and creativity, e.g. the freedoms of movement and association. "The State of Artistic Freedom" is an integral report published by arts censorship monitor Freemuse on an annual basis.
Chenjerai Hove, was a Zimbabwean poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both English and Shona. "Modernist in their formal construction, but making extensive use of oral conventions, Hove's novels offer an intense examination of the psychic and social costs - to the rural population, especially, of the war of liberation in Zimbabwe." He died on 12 July 2015 while living in exile in Norway, with his death attributed to liver failure.
Paweł Bogdan Adamowicz was a Polish politician and lawyer who served as the city mayor of Gdańsk from 1998 until his assassination in 2019.
PEN America, founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization that works to defend and celebrate free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights. PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 PEN centers worldwide that together compose PEN International. PEN America has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
Anna Funder is an Australian author. She is the author of Stasiland and All That I Am and the novella The Girl With the Dogs.
World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of cities, nationally and internationally. The organisers make it plain that the award has no connection with any city or organization and is run on strictly non-commercial lines. Helen Zille and Leopoldo Lopez discussed their 2008 nominations on the BBC World Service programme 'Outlook'. The Guardian looked at contenders for the 2014 prize. The 2018 World Mayor Project was dedicated to women mayors. The 2020 World Mayor Project is dedicated to mayors who have made the relief of poverty one of their top priorities. The winner of the 2021 World Mayor Prize Ahmed Aboutaleb was presented with his award at a ceremony held in the Dutch Senate by its President Jan Anthonie Bruijn.
Arifur Rahman is a Bangladeshi-Norwegian political cartoonist, illustrator and animator. He is a self-taught cartoonist who is renowned for his contribution to cartoons both on the internet and in print media. In Bangladesh, he is best known as "Cartoonist Arif" for anti-corruption cartoons. He's won multiple awards for Anti-Corruption cartoons from Transparency International Bangladesh and the Daily Star. He was the first and former guest cartoonist of International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN). He is a publisher of cartoon magazine Toons Mag and the organizer of international cartoon contests and exhibitions.
Ren (Katherine) Powell is an American-born Norwegian poet and translator.
The Norwegian Authors Union Freedom of Expression Award (Ytringsfrihetsprisen) is an annual prize given by the Norwegian Authors Union. It is not to be confused with the Freedom of Expression Prize of the Fritt Ord organization. The prize is awarded to a writer, journalist, author or editor who has made outstanding efforts to promote freedom of expression and tolerance in the very broadest sense. The nominations are made by an International Committee and a National Board of Members.
Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi publisher and writer. He won the 2016 Pinter International Writer of Courage Award, selected by writer Margaret Atwood, The Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award, 2016 and the Ossietzky Prize in 2018. His writings were published in newspapers, magazine, and blogs.
Krakow UNESCO City of Literature is a City of Literature located in Krakow, Poland, as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Krakow joined the UCCN on 21 October 2013 as the first Slavic and second non-English speaking city. Krakow’s main objective as a UNESCO City of Literature is to develop and implement a program promoting literary heritage, popularize reading among its residents, and support the local book market. Krakow UNESCO City of Literature also functions as a coordinator for the Cities of Literature and a member of the UCCN Steering Committee.
Mansour Koushan (Persian: منصور کوشان) was a prominent Iranian novelist, poet, playwright, editor and director. He received the Ossietzky Award in 2010 for his outstanding work for human rights and freedom of expression. He was an active member of Iranian Writers’ Association and a strong opponent to the Iranian regime. In December 1998 Koushan was invited by the Norwegian Forum for Freedom of Expression to deliver a speech at the 50th anniversary of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights Charter. Not long after, he received news that two of his friends and colleagues Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad-Ja'far Pouyandeh had been abducted and killed in Tehran. His name was likewise on the regimes death list. These killings were part of what is known as Chain Murders of Iran. Koushan was then forced to live in exile and resided in Norway the rest of his life.
City of Asylum is a nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that helps writers exiled from their countries for their controversial writing.
Events of 2019 in Poland.
Tomasz Posadzki was mayor of Gdańsk, Poland, from 1994 to 1998.
Toons Mag is a cartoon magazine that offers a global online platform for publishing editorial cartoons, comics, caricatures, illustrations, and related news. It is a multilingual publication and organizer of an international cartoon contest and exhibitions. It was founded in 2009 by cartoonist Arifur Rahman, based in Drøbak, Norway.
Magdalena Adamowicz is a lawyer and the widow of Paweł Adamowicz, a Polish politician murdered by a mentally unstable ex-convict. She was elected to the European Parliament in the 2019 election as part of the center-left European Coalition opposition. She has since been serving on the Committee on Transport and Tourism.
Paweł Adamowicz, sitting mayor of Gdańsk, Poland, was fatally stabbed on 13 January 2019, during the finale of the 27th Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, a wintertime Polish charity event. The incident took place in the former coal market of the city of Gdańsk. It was a highly public attack, with significant news coverage from both national and international sources.
Khalid Albaih or Khalid Wad Albaih is a Sudanese political cartoonist, civil rights activist and freelance journalist, who grew up as member of the Sudanese diaspora in Doha, Qatar. He has published his social and political caricatures and articles mainly in Arab and international online media, and his graphic art has also been publicly exhibited internationally.
Shuddhashar is an exiled Bangladeshi publishing house currently based in Norway. Shuddhashar received the 2016 Jeri Laber International Freedom to Publish Award, given to publishers outside the United States who demonstrate courage despite restrictions on freedom of expression.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
