2022 Season’s Greetings from ICORN!
As 2022 comes to an end, we would like to thank all ICORN members, residents, and partners for our common achievements and your ongoing support. From enduring conflicts in Yemen, Ethiopia, and Myanmar, to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the challenging conditions in Afghanistan and Iran, 2022 has not been easy.
The tumultuous events of the past year have severely impacted the conditions of free expression, human rights, and democracy across the world. Reporters Without Borders’ 20th World Press Freedom Index reflects this global instability by highlighting a ‘two-fold increase in polarisation, amplified by information chaos’ and ‘a very bad’ press freedom situation in a record number of countries. This year’s attacks on freedom of expression have continued to manifest at all levels, from the murder of 57 journalists and the detention of many more, to the attack on Salman Rushdie.
While it remains impossible to directly help everyone who reaches out to ICORN, we have continued to work hard in offering protection and residencies to writers, artists, and journalists from across the globe. So far in 2022, ICORN has been able to welcome 21 new ICORN residents in various Cities of Refuge, including Fredrikstad and Lyon’s first ICORN residents Leila Ghahremani and LAZA, as well as the new residents in Växjö, Detriot, and Hannover.
Afghanistan in focus: A Night with Buddha and Project +93 in Stockholm
More than a year since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the country remains in crisis due to severe humanitarian, economic, and food insecurities. This has not only had an impact on ICORN’s application intake but has also prompted Afghan ICORN residents to maintain focus on their country through their work.
This has been the case for Stockholm where earlier in the year Zahra Hussain, only recently arrived in Sweden’s capital, organised ‘A Night with Buddha’- a festival of dance, poetry, music, and discussion at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern. The evening was aimed at celebrating Afghan heritage and culture and commemorating the Buddha statutes destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The programme of ‘A Night with Buddha’ included several current and former ICORN residents, including Mizar Kemal and Ali Thareb.
+93, a music project for Afghan youth in Stockholm, performed at the festival. The initiative was started in the aftermath of the fall of Kabul in 2021 and is organised by former ICORN resident Arya Aramnejad, originally from Iran, and Åsa Steinsvik, producer and ICORN coordinator.
Woman, life, freedom: in solidarity from exile
Over the last two months, Iran has seen its biggest and longest lasting protests since the 1978 Revolution. With human rights issues and individual expression at the heart of the issue, Iranian ICORN residents have firmly stood in solidarity and hope.
Fatemeh Ekhtesari’s latest poetry collection Hun er ikke kvinne (‘She is not a woman’) comes at a time when the issues of her work have increasingly become ones of life and death in her home country. Exploring issues of gender, sexuality, and religion, Fatemeh crosses boundaries and tackles issues prevalent in Iranian society through an innovative style of poetry. She adds that ‘Iranian women are no longer the women who they were forced to be for 44 years.’
Farima Habashizadehasl, better known as the rapper Justina, has long been vocal against the Iranian regime, using her music to confront the conservative establishment. Following the death of Mahsa Amini, the rapper released a song titled ‘Revolution’, expressive of the anger and frustration at the treatment of women in Iran, yet hopeful of change to come.
Dissidents on Tour: ICORN and City of Asylum residents on resistance and risk
During Banned Books Week, the three ICORN and CoA residents, together with Dmitry Bykov, toured the three US Cities of Asylum which have become their homes in exile. The tour came about as a result of the attack on Salman Rushdie and was curated in solidarity with writers, artists, and journalists around the world who continue to face threats and harassment for their work.
‘DISSIDENCE’ included public speaking and reading events at the four stops as well as presentations and meetings between the ICORN and CoA residents and students at Cornell University and Ithaca College. There, Rahmani, Dauod, Molina, and Bykov were able to share their lived experiences of resistance, persecution, and exile and underline the importance of free expression despite the risks involved.
Welcoming new members to the ICORN network
Yet, the precarious conditions in which we find ourselves at the end of 2022 are a testament to the importance of ICORN’s work in protecting and promoting free expression. Despite the challenges, ICORN has continued to grow and strengthen throughout the past 12 months, with six new cities joining the network: Rosario (Argentina), Strasbourg (France), Bratislava (Slovakia), Færder (Norway), Tokke (Norway), and Sarpsborg (Norway). The six new members’ decisions to become Cities of Refuge has affirmed their commitment to ICORN’s mission of improving conditions of free expression worldwide at a time when it is most needed.
Solidarity and freedom of expression at the ICORN General Assembly in Gdańsk
One of the highlights of 2022 was the ICORN General Assembly in Gdańsk, where more than 250 ICORN members, residents, and representatives were finally able to gather in person following three years of pandemic disruption. The artistic performances, in-depth discussions, panels, workshops, and social gatherings under the theme of solidarity were a needed celebration of free expression in times of war and turmoil.
Welcome to the 2023 ICORN Network Meeting in Brussels!
On this note, we would like to remind you that registration for the upcoming 2023 ICORN Network Meeting in Brussels is now open. Please find out more information about the event here.
We would like to thank all ICORN members, residents, and partners and supporters for making the work of ICORN possible over the past year and wish everyone happy holidays!
