Mimeta this week launched the Sector Collective Program Organization aimed at fostering collaboration among multiple organizations and sponsors to address shared challenges and tasks within the cultural rights sector.
Invitation to Breakout Session at World Expression Forum
We are looking forward to be present on this breakout session at the upcoming World Expression Forum, themed around the intersection of art, activism, and challenges faced by artists globally.
"Navigating the Pressures: Protecting Artistic Freedom in a Complex Landscape," will explore the intricate dynamics of artistic expression amidst censorship pressures from both authorities and civil society.
Through narrative transformation, our partners aim to not only captivate hearts and minds but to drive tangible shifts in behaviors and policies, contributing to a more positive and equitable world. At Mimeta, we recognize the profound influence that narratives wield in shaping perceptions, behaviors, and policies across diverse societal sectors. Our belief is rooted in the understanding that the creative sector, represented by our partners, with its expertise in storytelling, plays a pivotal role in catalyzing positive change.
With acceptance of higher tolerances for threats in the process of pursuing intended outcomes, comes implicit expectations on increasing the understanding of why the goals were or were not reached. Another such expectation is that when working in these complex environments, one may also seek a large degree of innovation in order to reach the defined goals.
Norad's opportunity to directly engage in the administration of Norway's human rights efforts opens up new avenues. The director of Norad stated at last year's World Expression Forum in Lillehammer that they only support freedom of expression environments in the media sector working on themes related to Norad's other initiatives. Support for freedom of expression can now be on clear terms. The work for cultural rights will also be managed by Norad from August onwards. Not as in the old days, to change a narrative about, for example, gender equality through a production of Ibsen's "A Doll's House" in Mali, but to support those fighting for a society where artistic expressions are protected, and participation in artistic production is possible.
At the Salzburg Global Seminar session ‘On the Front Lines: Artists at Risk, Artists who Risk’, in March 2023, fifty artists, activists and representatives from supporting organizations hailing from forty countries created the Salzburg Statement on Supporting Artists on the Front Line.
This mapping encompasses 71 organizations, all actively involved in supporting Artists-at-Risk to varying degrees. Out of these, 20 organizations have participated by providing responses to our survey, specifically designed for this mapping initiative. Additionally, 25 supplementary interviews were conducted among the 71 organizations. The study, therefore, combines survey data, interviews, and desk studies. While acknowledging the challenges of generalizing from this diverse material, we remain hopeful that it contributes to a comprehensive overview of organizations dedicated to supporting Artists-at-Risk.
Utenriksdepartementet støtter Unesco sitt Aschberg-program. Dette har fokus på beskyttelse av kunstnerisk frihet. Rett før sommeren publiserte de Defending Creative Voices, en dyptpløyende gjennomgang av de internasjonale beskyttelsesmekanismene for kunstnere, med tittelunderteksten «Learning from the safety of journalists». Referansen til journalister er nærliggende. Begge grupper er spesielt fremhevet i menneskerettighetssystemet, og begge er avhengige av ytringsfrihet i arbeidet sitt.
Kulturledere i Arendal arbeider for at byen skal etablere seg som del av det internasjonale Friby-nettverket. I Arendal har alle kulturlederne gått sammen i Art27Arendal for å diskutere internasjonalisering av programarbeid og utvikling av et bedre internasjonalt nettverk. Arendal skal fortsatt være et fellesskap som ivaretar kunstneriske rettigheter. Dette gjelder både folks deltakelse i kunstproduksjon og kunstnernes ytringsfrihet. Slik vil de sikre at kultursektoren forblir en god pådriver og arena for demokratisering i lokalsamfunnet.
Culture Resource and Action for Hope are launching an emergency initiative to support Sudanese artists and protect cultural resources in Sudan. This initiative includes different components, such as providing support to artists and writers who have been directly affected by the war, identifying and documenting the cultural and artistic resources at risk in Sudan and exploring ways to protect them, providing workplaces and meeting spaces for Sudanese artists who had to leave Sudan recently, and training a group of cultural actors from Sudan and South Sudan on protecting cultural rights in times of war and crisis.
Opening remarks by Cato Litangen, Director of Mimeta, at World Freedom of Expression Forum (Wexfo), Workshop 23rd May
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Solveig Korum Korum har tatt doktorgrad i bruk av musikk som verktøy i norsk utenriks- og bistandspolitikk ved Universitetet i Agder. I fagbladet for norsk bistandssektor, Panorama Nyheter, viser Solveig Korum til Mimeta som eksempel på norske organisasjoner som arbeider sammen med lokale partnere for å få frem en fungerende kultursektor i land der myndigheten ikke tar dette ansvaret.
Carving out a space for free expression has always been a high-cost fight for artists under autocratic rule. Today, that space is contested even in some established western democracies. This session will present you with real life models and experiences from Africa, the Middle East and Norway of those working effortlessly to salvage a space for free expression for artists. How can we ensure more international engagement in protecting the rights of artists at risk?
Velkommen til frokostseminar om kraften i historiefortelling og hvordan den kan brukes til å påvirke både individuelle ferdigheter og endringer av sosiale situasjoner. Arendal Voksenopplæring og Media Service AS, i samarbeid med Oslo Met og NLA-Høgskolen, bruker film i språkopplæring for innvandrere i Arendal. Prosjektet er finansiert av Imdi.
Basma El Husseiny er fra Egypt. Hun er en internasjonalt anerkjent kulturleder, og driver den arabiske organisasjonen Action for Hope som har filmskoler for unge syriske flyktninger i Libanon.
It is our pleasure to invite you to the roundtable “Artists at risk: Learning from the experience of journalists”, which will be hosted by UNESCO on Thursday 4 May 2023 from 13h00 to 13h30, in the framework of IFACCA’s 9th World Summit on Arts & Culture — Space A1 (Level 4), Waterfront Congress Centre, Stockholm, Sweden. The event will feature the launch of UNESCO’s new publication “Defending Creative Voices: Artists in emergencies – Learning from the safety of journalists” and the announcement of over US$ 1 million investment in artistic freedom through the UNESCO-Aschberg programme.
The roundtable, dedicated to the safety of artists, will be opened and moderated by Mr. Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture. It will include the participation of the following panellists:
Mr Shahidul Alam, Artist, photojournalist, educator and social activist
Ms Basma El Husseiny, Founder, Action for Hope
Ms Julie Trébault, Director, Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) - PEN America
C-Stunners of Cyrus Kabiru. Photo: Sylvia Gichia
Mimeta is organizing this panel in partnership with the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN), as a side event to the World Expression Forum (WEXFO), taking place in Norway, Lillehammer 22-23 May - 9:30-12:30. WEXFO was launched last year with a mission to be a catalyst for freedom of expression defenders from around the world to unite them in a strong and active global community. Mimeta is a stakeholder in the WEXFO conference.
Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Ms. Alexandra Xanthak
The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Ms. Alexandra Xanthaki, will continue to work on cultural rights in development for her next report to the General Assembly, examining more closely the global governance of development and its impact on cultural rights, and she asks for your input!
It is of urgency to invest in these structures as their foundations are crackling. The number of people that are involved concretely in the protective work globally is countable on few hands. The protective structures on ground are alarmingly scarce and not fully integrated in the international system of protection, according to head of Mimeta, Cato Litangen.
Authorities, philanthropy, cultural institutes, and key organizations and artists from vulnerable regions, took part in the first meeting of the Artist at Risk Funding Initiative. The aim is to strengthen the protection of artists at risk.
This Mimeta proposed initiative aims to mobilize resources for safeguarding artists at risk by facilitating a process for funder collaboration and exchange, leading to the establishment of a joint fund dedicated to supporting the artist protection field.
Mimeta would like to invite you as a funding partner to a meeting on Thursday 23rd March 11:30 – 16:00 (lunch included, venue tbc) to discuss this Artist at Risk funding Initiative, and confirm partnerships with those interested. The meeting will take place in cooperation with and around ICORN annual network meeting, 22-24 March in Brussels.
