Speaker: Moderator: Jan Lothe Eriksen
“Music in itself is the expression of freedom.” – Angelique Kidjo
The case of Pussy Riot in Russia last year has drawn the world’s attention to the issues of freedom of expression in the field of music, and has served as a wakeup call for the international music community. But Pussy Riot are not alone being silenced. Musicians and artists around the world are arrested, tortured, attacked and even killed due to their artistic activities.
SafeMUSE, Safe Music Havens Initiative, have the ambition to establish an international scheme of safe music havens for persecuted artists, musicians and composers, initially in the Nordic countries.
Since the introduction of the idea of safe havens or cities of refuge for persecuted writers in the 1990s, this has become a worldwide scheme of 40 cities organized in the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN). There is to date no parallel scheme for safe music havens. In 2011 the Norwegian Musicians’ Union (MFO), in close cooperation with Freemuse, the World Forum on Music and Censorship, and professional organizations in the Nordic countries, took the first steps towards establishing a safe music haven scheme.
There is a need for increasing awareness of these issues, promoting initiatives that strengthen the freedom of artistic expression and democracy building, and organizing support for endangered musicians worldwide.
Panelists:
Deeyah – Artist and human rights activist, Fuuse
Knut Reiersrud – Artist
Ole Reitov – Programme manager, Freemuse, The World Forum On Music And Censorship
Edvard Valberg – Artist, Honningbarna
Moderator:
Jan Lothe Eriksen – Project manager, SafeMUSE / Norwegian Musicians Union
http://bylarm.no/nor/seminars
