This list of intellectual freedom awards is an index to articles about notable awards celebrating intellectual freedom, specifically freedoms of thought, speech, and expression; this includes press and academic freedom. General human rights awards are not included, unless their primary focus is on intellectual freedom. The list is organized by the country of the sponsor of the award, but awards are not necessarily limited to people from that country.
| Country | Award | Sponsor | Given for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Rodolfo Walsh Prize | National University of La Plata | Awarded to Hugo Chávez of Venezuela in 2011 for "unquestionable and authentic commitment" to media that support "human rights, truth and democratic values". [1] |
| Austria | World Press Freedom Heroes | International Press Institute | Significant contributions to the maintenance of press freedom and freedom of expression |
| Canada | International Press Freedom Award | Canadian Journalists for Free Expression | Journalists from Canada and around the world who have been persecuted because of their work |
| Denmark | Sappho Award | Danish Free Press Society | Journalist who combines excellence in their work with courage and a refusal to compromise |
| Germany | Golden Pen of Freedom Award | World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers | To recognise the outstanding action, in writing or deed, of an individual, a group or an institution in the cause of press freedom |
| International | Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize | UNESCO | Person, organization or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger |
| Poland | Freedom of Speech Award [2] | International Association of Press Clubs | Outstanding contributions to the defense or the struggle for freedom of expression, the creation of conditions to support freedom of speech |
| Romania | Valeriu Boboc Prize | Senate of Romania | For the liberty of press and defending of democratic values |
| United Kingdom | Index Freedom of Expression Awards | Index on Censorship | To courageous journalists, artists, campaigners and digital activists from around the world who have made a significant contribution to free expression |
| United States | Tully Center for Free Speech Award | Tully Center for Free Speech | Awarded to a journalist who has survived a significant free speech threat |
| United States | International Press Freedom Award | Committee to Protect Journalists | Journalists or their publications around the world who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment |
| United States | James Madison Freedom of Information Award | Society of Professional Journalists | Individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the advancement of freedom of expression, particularly freedom of information |
| United States | Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism | University of Oregon | Journalist of integrity and character who reports with insight and clarity in the face of political or economic pressures and to reward performance that inspires public trust in the media |
| Country | Award | Sponsor | Given for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Sakharov Prize | European Parliament | The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1988 by the European Parliament as a means to honor individuals or organisations who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought. |
| Germany | Geschwister-Scholl-Preis | Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels | Annual award for a book which "shows intellectual independence and supports civil freedom, moral, intellectual and aesthetic courage and that gives an important impulse to the present awareness of responsibility" |
| Germany | Leipzig Human Rights Award | European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA | Efforts towards human rights and freedom of expression in the USA |
| India | National RTI Awards | Public Cause Research Foundation | Protecting the right to freedom of information |
| Norway | Bjørnson Prize | Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression | Promoting understanding of other cultures and for literary free speech |
| Norway | Fritt Ord Award | Fritt Ord organization | Awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression |
| United States | Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression [3] | National Communication Association | Outstanding published research on freedom of expression |
| United States | Free Speech Award [4] | American INSIGHT | American INSIGHT is a Philadelphia-based non-profit dedicated to the promotion of Free Speech and the Rule of Law. The organization holds an annual Free Speech Film Festival where it screens documentaries from around the world that promote the organization's message. The Free Speech Award is bestowed upon one standout documentary. |
| United States | Free Speech Defender Awards | National Coalition Against Censorship | Defend freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression from censorship and threats of censorship through education and outreach, and direct advocacy |
| United States | Freedom of Speech Award | Roosevelt Institute's Four Freedoms Award | |
| United States | Hal Freeman 'Freedom Isn't Free' Award | Free Speech Coalition | |
| United States | Luther McNair Award | ACLU of Massachusetts | For significant contributions to civil liberties |
| United States | Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award | Americana Music Honors & Awards | Those who use their music to make a difference, lending a voice to those who would otherwise go unheard and shining a light on issues that would otherwise go unseen |
| United States | AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility | American Association for the Advancement of Science | Scientists and engineers whose exemplary actions, often taken at significant personal cost, have served to foster scientific freedom and responsibility and increased scientific awareness throughout the world |
| United States | Eli M. Oboler Award | American Library Association | For best published work in intellectual freedom |
| United States | Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award | Hugh M. Hefner Foundation | Awarded to those who have made significant contributions to the protection and enhancement of the rights enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. |
| United States | Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award | PEN America | Writers anywhere in the world who have fought courageously in the face of adversity for the right to freedom of expression |
| United States | Katherine Anne Porter First Amendment Award | PEN America | U.S. resident who has fought courageously, despite adversity, to safeguard the First Amendment right to freedom of expression as it applies to the written word |
| United States | Newman's Own First Amendment Award | PEN America | U.S. resident who fought courageously, despite adversity, to safeguard the First Amendment right to freedom of expression as it applies to the written word |
| United States | Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent | Human Rights Foundation | Individuals who engage in creative dissent, exhibiting courage and creativity to challenge injustice and live in truth |
| United States | William J. Brennan Award | Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey | Those whose actions have advanced the principles of free expression |
| United States | William J. Brennan Award | Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression | Individual or group whose commitment to free expression is consistent with Justice Brennan's abiding devotion |
| United States | William O. Douglas Prize | Commission on Freedom of Expression of the Speech Communication Association | Those who contribute to writing about freedom of speech |
These awards celebrate intellectual freedom by calling attention to those who harm it.
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state; its preservation may be sought through the constitution or other legal protection and security. It is in opposition to paid press, where communities, police organizations, and governments are paid for their copyrights.
Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints.
IFEX, formerly International Freedom of Expression Exchange, is a global network of more than 120 independent non-governmental organisations that work at a local, national, regional, or international level to defend and promote freedom of expression as a human right.
International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia University in October, 1950, and has members in over 120 countries as of 2021.
Human rights in Turkey are protected by a variety of international law treaties, which take precedence over domestic legislation, according to Article 90 of the 1982 Constitution. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was not signed by Turkey until 2000. As of today, however, Turkey is party to 16 out of 18 international human rights treaties of the United Nations. The issue of human rights is of high importance for the negotiations with the European Union (EU).
Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particularly related to the protection and realization of existing rights, such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression, in the context of digital technologies, especially the Internet. The laws of several countries recognize a right to Internet access.
Judith Fingeret Krug was an American librarian, freedom of speech proponent, and critic of censorship. Krug became director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association in 1967. In 1969, she joined the Freedom to Read Foundation as its executive director. Krug co-founded Banned Books Week in 1982.
In 2011, the then Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika lifted a state of emergency that had been in place since the end of the Algerian Civil War in 2002, as a result of the Arab Spring protests that had occurred throughout the Arab world.
Censorship in Cuba is the topic of accusations put forward by several foreign groups-organizations and political leaders, as well as Cuban dissidents. The accusations led the European Union to impose sanctions from 2003 to 2008 as well as statements of protest from groups, governments, and noted individuals.
The International Publishers Association is an international publishing industry federation of national publisher associations representing book and journal publishing, founded in 1896 in Paris. It is a non-profit and non-governmental organization, to promote and protect publishing and to raise awareness for publishing in the context of economic, cultural and political development. The IPA represents the interests of the publishing industry on an international level.
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation, also known as Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance, is an American non-profit organization founded in 2003 that advocates for sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. The organization is based in Washington, D.C., United States. Named after an influential member of the American woman's suffrage movement, Victoria Woodhull, its focus includes analyzing groups and individuals that seek to perpetuate a culture of sexual repression.
Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. "Speech" is not limited to public speaking and is generally taken to include other forms of expression. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless, the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced. Censorship has also been claimed to occur in other forms and there are different approaches to issues such as hate speech, obscenity, and defamation laws.
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law by the United Nations. Many countries have constitutional law that protects free speech. Terms like free speech, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression are used interchangeably in political discourse. However, in a legal sense, the freedom of expression includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.
Blasphemy Day, also known as International Blasphemy Day or International Blasphemy Rights Day, educates individuals and groups about blasphemy laws and defends freedom of expression, especially the open criticism of religion which is criminalized in many countries. Blasphemy Day was introduced as a worldwide celebration by the Center for Inquiry in 2009.
Human rights in Zambia are addressed in Zambia's constitution. However, the Zambia 2012 Human Rights Report of the United States Department of State noted that in general, the government's human rights record remained poor. The 2021 version of this report noted improvements in many areas.
Freedom of Expression® is a book written by Kembrew McLeod about freedom of speech issues involving concepts of intellectual property. The book was first published in 2005 by Doubleday as Freedom of Expression®: Overzealous Copyright Bozos and Other Enemies of Creativity, and in 2007 by University of Minnesota Press as Freedom of Expression®: Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property. The paperback edition includes a foreword by Lawrence Lessig. The author recounts a history of the use of counter-cultural artistry, illegal art, and the use of copyrighted works in art as a form of fair use and creative expression. The book encourages the reader to continue such uses in art and other forms of creative expression.
Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry. Intellectual freedom comprises the bedrock for freedoms of expression, speech, and the press and relates to freedoms of information and the right to privacy.
Librarianship and human rights in the U.S. are linked by the philosophy and practice of library and information professionals supporting the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), particularly the established rights to information, knowledge and free expression.
The censorship of student media in the United States is the suppression of student-run news operations' free speech by school administrative bodies, typically state schools. This consists of schools using their authority to control the funding and distribution of publications, taking down articles, and preventing distribution. Some forms of student media censorship extend to expression not funded by or under the official auspices of the school system or college.
David Kaye is an American politician who served as the United Nations special rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression between August 2014 and July 2020. He was succeeded by Irene Khan. Kaye is clinical professor of law at the University of California, Irvine on public international law, international humanitarian law human rights and international criminal justice. He is co-director of the UCI Fair Elections and Free Speech Center working at the intersection of technology, freedom of speech and democratic deliberation. He is also the independent board chair of the Global Network Initiative.
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