ICORN international cities of refuge network

Not yet time to return home

Chenjerai Hove will participate in the upcoming Milosz poetry festival and the ICORN Network Meeting in Krakow in May.

For over a decade, previous ICORN guest writer Chenjerai Hove has lived a nomadic life in exile in Europe and the Americas in fear of the consequences of returning to his beloved homeland Zimbabwe. A poet, author, playwright and lecturer, Hove has made it his life’s work to write and educate about his country and bring to light the corruption and abuse of the government of his country. Returning home would be a dangerous move for Mr. Hove.

WRITING FREEDOM PROGRAMME - The Biannual PEN International WiPC Conference & ICORN Network Meeting, Krakow 14-17 May 2013

Freedom of speech, creative resistance, digital freedom and sustainable protection. These are a few of the topics that will be treated when representatives from 50 countries join forces in Krakow 14 – 17 May 2013 for the biannual PEN International WiPC conference & ICORN Network Meeting.

'Literary Portraits' at Villa Decius

Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski (left) and Leszek Kołakowski (right)

The opening of the exhibition Literary Portraits, presenting photos by the Polish photographer Elzbieta Lempp, will take place in connection with WRITING FREEDOM, the joint ICORN Network Meeting and PEN WiPC Conference and the Milosz festival in Krakow in May. All are welcome at the Villa Decius on Wednesday, May 15 2013 at 5.30 pm.

'Free Speech in a Crowded World'

The British historian, author and political commentator Timothy Garton Ash will give the opening speech at the inauguration of WRITING FREEDOM the joint ICORN Network Meeting and PEN WiPC Conference together with the Milosz Festival in Krakow on May 14. The title is Free Speech in a Crowded World.

A Nordic Perspective on Free Speech and Cultural Shelter Cities

ICORN has been invited to participate in an expert meeting in Stockholm together with the Arts Councils of the Nordic countries and other independent organisations working in the field of promoting free speech for culture workers. The aim is to consolidate a long-term collaboration on free speech issues between the Nordic Arts Councils and the Nordic Institutes in Greenland, Faroe Islands and Åland.

ICORN at the 2013 EIDHR Forum in Brussels

The European Commission’s annual EIDHR Forum in Brussels is just around the corner, and ICORN will be present to join the dialogue on shelter initiatives for human rights defenders.

Iowa Writer's Program 2013

Writers can now apply to participate in the Iowa Writer’s Program (IWP) that brings together a wide range of international and U.S. writers at the University of Iowa. The application deadline is April 7. 2013.

Ahya ssimra! (Damn it all!) - New book from Noufel Bouzeboudja

Ahya ssimra! (Damn it all!) is a new book by Noufel Bouzeboudja, ICORN’s writer in residence on Fanoe, Denmark. Written in his mother-tongue, Kabyle, the book is a collection of short stories featuring ordinary men’s lives in contemporary Algeria. This is Noufel’s first book published by a publisher in his homeland, Algeria.

WRITING FREEDOM - The Biannual PEN International WiPC Conference & ICORN Network Meeting, Krakow 14-17 May 2013

200 writers, coordinators, city officials, activists and other guests from all parts of the world are expected to arrive in Krakow on 14 May 2013 for the jointly organised biannual PEN International Writers in Prison Committee conference and the International Cities of Refuge Network Meeting. The event is hosted by the City of Krakow and Polish PEN.

Join the online conversation on Creating Safe Spaces: Tactics for Communities at Risk

Creating Safe Spaces: Tactics for Communities at Risk is an internationally open online conversation initiated by New Tactics in Human Rights. The conversation is a great opportunity for practitioners to share experiences, challenges and ideas around creating safe spaces for groups at risk and build communities that put human rights into practice.