Oslo Freedom Forum
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Oslo Freedom Forum
| Oslo Freedom Forum | |
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 Official Logo |
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| Inaugurated | 2009 (Oslo, Norway) |
| Organised by | Human rights foundation |
| Website | oslofreedomforum.com |
Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is a conference about human rights first held in May 2009 in Oslo, Norway. It was described by "'The Economist" in a news report as the "Davos of Human Rights." It was founded by Thor Halvorssen, CEO of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation. According to Thor Halvorssen, "the Oslo Freedom Forum is an intimate gathering where leaders who are transforming the world present effective solutions and inspiring testimonies that impact human rights and freedom. Speakers share diverse perspectives and expertise, from those individuals with first-hand experiences in the fight for human rights to those offering insight based on academic research and political and non-profit leadership".[1]
The forum aims to bring together world leaders including former heads of state, winners of the Nobel Peace Prize and prisoners of conscience as well as a selection of authors, together with business, political, media, technology and cultural leaders from both Norway and internationally. According to the Forum website, the Oslo Freedom Forum is supported by Fritt Ord, the City of Oslo, the Thiel Foundation, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Sundt AS, the John Templeton Foundation, the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fredskorpset, Amnesty International Norway, Human Rights House Foundation, and Ny Tid. It is endorsed by several groups including the Nobel Peace Center, the University of Oslo, the Norwegian Author's Union, and the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.[2] It also received financial support from the government of Norway.[3]
The second OFF took place in April 2010 in Oslo and the third OFF took place in May 2011. Every speech was filmed and is posted at youtube.com/oslofreedomforum. It is supported by Norway's Fritt Ord, Amnesty International, the Nobel Peace Center, the Norwegian Author's Union, University of Oslo, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Thiel Foundation and the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.[3] In 2011 Oslo Freedom Forum will take place from May 9 to May 11.
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Forum
The OFF is produced by the Human Rights Foundation.[4] The conference was funded with a grant from the Templeton Foundation,[5] and also received support from the Norwegian government and the City government of Oslo.[6] Partners for the 2009 are listed as Civita, Human Rights Action Center, International Society for Human Rights, Laogai Research Foundation, and Reporters Without Borders. In 2010 the Forum's partners include Norway's Freedom of Expression, Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, Amnesty, Civita, The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and Human Rights House Foundation.[3] In 2011 the Forum's partners included Amnesty International, Civita, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and PLAN Norway.
The Forum's mission is to be the place where human rights defenders and social entrepreneurs from around the world can network and exchange ideas - where extraordinary human rights advocates lacking international support and recognition are given a platform to share their work with a global audience - where those with first-hand experience as survivors of human rights violations are able to share their insights with leaders who are shaping the world through journalism, business, philanthropy, and politics.[7]
2009 Forum
Thor Halvorssen the conference’s 33-year-old founder explained to the Wall Street Journal in 2009: “We all should want freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom from torture, freedom to travel, due process and freedom to keep what belongs to you.” Unfortunately, he explains, “the human-rights establishment at the United Nations is limited to pretty words because so many member countries kill or imprison or torture their opponents.”[8] John Fund writing in the Wall Street Journal about "Human Rights Beyond Ideology" said it "was unlike any human-rights conference I've ever attended. As at other such gatherings, racism and gender discrimination were on the minds of plenty of participants. But there was no desire to blame such problems on the U.S. or other Western nations. The emphasis was on promoting basic rights in all nations at all times." The article by Fundamentions that "Even Oslo's leftist newspaper Klassekampen (Class Struggle) overcame its initial skepticism, declaring the forum "an impressive assembly of people."[8]
2010 Forum
Participants at the 2010 forum included Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, North Korean dissenter Kang Chol-Hwan, former FARC hostage Clara Rojas, and Sudanese reformer Lubna al-Hussein. World leaders like Poland's Lech Walesa, Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim, and Estonia's Mart Laar presented, as did technology pioneers such as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and entrepreneur Peter Thiel. Other notable speakers included Russian democracy advocate and chess master Garry Kasparov, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, abolitionist and explorer Benjamin Skinner, former Cuban political prisoner Armando Valladares, and Chechen lawyer Lidia Yusupova, hailed as the bravest woman in Europe.[9]
The Economist called the 2010 Forum "a spectacular human-rights festival" and described it as "on its way to becoming a human-rights equivalent of the Davos economic forum." Standpoint magazine says that the Oslo Freedom Forum "provides an intimate space for dissidents and human rights defenders from around the world to meet each other, to talk to internet entrepreneurs, academics, politicians, journalists and to draw inspiration and encouragement."[10] Elsewhere coverage and mentions of the 2010 Forum can be found at CNN, Al Jazeera, Forbes, The Huffington Post, The Associated Press, The National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason Magazine, Foreign Policy, Front Page Africa, Standpoint Magazine, Aftenposten, Real Clear Politics, Radio Free Europe, TEDFellows, Current TV, Illume, and SBS Dateline.[11]
2011 Forum
The third OFF took place in May 2011 in Oslo. Supporters included the City of Oslo, Color Line AS, the Thiel Foundation, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fritt Ord, the Nobel Peace Center, Helly Hansen, and Voss Water.[12]
Speakers at the 2011 conference included Iranian Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, Ghanaian economist George Ayittey, former president of Colombia Belisario Betancur, North Korea expert and journalist Barbara Demick, Egyptian analyst Mona Eltahawy, American neuroscientist James Fallon, Chinese dissident Yang Jianli, Harvard political theorist Steven Levitsky, Canadian free speech champion John Ralston Saul, Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Jody Williams, and Bahraini rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja.[13] Bahraini activist Ali Abdulemam was invited to speak and had confirmed his attendance in the forum, but went missing in Bahrain a month beforehand and was unable to participate.[14][15] Egyptian internet activist and Tahrir Square protest organizer Wael Ghonim gave his presentation live from Cairo via satellite.[16]
According to the Economist, the 2011 OFF was “a glittering gathering of veterans of human-rights struggles.”[17] Peter Thiel (of Facebook, Paypal, and Linkedin) praised the Oslo Freedom Forum “because [its] focus on dissidents engages the intellectual debate as well as the moral cause.”[18]
The 2011 conference was streamed live in its entirety online and broadcasted live in part on Norway’s TV2. The event and its speakers were featured in a range of global publications including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, El Pais, The National Review, The Weekly Standard, Verdens Gang, Finansavisen, Aftenposten, El Clarín, Svenska Dagbladet, Die Presse, and O Estado de São Paulo.[11] All videos are available at www.youtube.com/oslofreedomforum.
2012 Forum
The 2012 OFF, now in its fourth year, took place from May 7th through May 9th, 2012 in Oslo. Supporters included the City of Oslo, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amnesty International, the Thiel Foundation, Fritt Ord, the Nobel Peace Center, and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
Some of the speakers at the 2012 conference included Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, women's rights activist Manal al-Sharif, Tunisian activist Lina Ben Mhenni, Moroccan journalist Ahmed Benchemsi, Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan, British journalist and author Nick Cohen, former South African politician Andrew Feinstein, Zimbabwean human rights activist Jestina Mukoko, Cambodian author and human rights activist Somaly Mam, leading Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir, and former Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General Irwin Cotler.
According to Wired Magazine, "If the global human-rights movement were to create its own unified representative body, it would look something like this." They also later wrote, "The power of the event -- whose sponsors include Sergey Brin's and Peter Thiel's charitable foundations -- lies in the seamless mix of grassroots activists, many of whom have risked their lives to speak out, and the top-level policymakers and influencers who can act on what they learn."[19]
The 2012 conference was streamed live and in its entirety online. Despite some mixed feelings from Norwegians about the forum, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry donated $80,000 to the conference this year. Norway's foreign minister Jonas Gahr Støre claimed, "As I see it, this conference lifts the cases of individuals.”[20]
Participants
Participants 2009Among those present at the 2009 conference were:
After the conference, each contribution was published on the internet. Due to illness, Vaclav Havel and Elie Wiesel each participated through a video segment recorded for the Oslo Freedom Forum. Additionally, Ramón José Velásquez, 94-year old former president of Venezuela, participated by video. |
Participants 2010Among those present at the 2010 conference were:
Additionally, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, Vietnamese religious leader Thich Quang Do, and Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez all participated via video. |
Participants 2011Among those present at the 2011 conference were:
Participants 2012Among those present at the 2012 conference were:
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References
- ^ " Is the website of the oslo freedom forum"
- ^ "It's the website of the oslo freedom forum"
- ^ a b c Berg, Thomas (11 March 2010). "Ytringshelter samles i Norge" (in Norwegian). Ny Tid. http://www.nytid.no/perspektiver/artikler/20100311/samler-heltene/. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
- ^ http://www.oslofreedomforum.com/supporters.html
- ^ http://www.templeton.org/funding_areas/show_profiles.asp?p=12671&b=1%7C70
- ^ http://ocha.unog.ch/fts/pageloader.aspx?page=search-reporting_display&CQ=cq010210033453SN0YMBSeJJ&orderby=DestinationCountryName&showDetails=1
- ^ "video about the oslo freedom forum"
- ^ a b Fund, John (5 June 2009). "Human Rights Beyond Ideology". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124417342925888153.html. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/oslofreedomforum
- ^ "Oslo: Signing OFF on Human Rights JONATHAN FOREMAN"
- ^ a b "Oslo Freedom Forum"
- ^ "Oslo Freedom Forum"
- ^ "Youtube"
- ^ "Oslo Freedom Forum"
- ^ "Huffington Post"
- ^ "Youtube"
- ^ "Economist"
- ^ "The Street
- ^ Rowan, David (14 May 2012). "Oslo Freedom Forum brings together the global human rights movement" (in English). Wired UK. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-05/14/30-things-i-learned-at-the-oslo-freedom-forum. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ Lake, Eli (11 May 2012). "Oslo Freedom Forum: The Davos For Do-Gooding Dissidents" (in English). The Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/11/oslo-freedom-forum-the-davos-for-do-gooding-dissidents.html. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
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