Aslı Ceren Aslan is Växjö’s 4th ICORN Resident!

In July 2022, following a short break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Växjö City of Refuge welcomed its fourth ICORN resident. The journalist, editor, and activist Aslı Ceren Aslan has focused on issues of women’s rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and the plight of Kurdish people In Turkey through her work. Because of her journalism, Aslan was persecuted and imprisoned in Turkey on unfounded charges of ‘producing propaganda for a terrorist organisation’.

Following her arrival in Växjö, Aslı stated that she will continue her journalistic work and is hopeful to be able to build a new network of people, organisations, such as Växjö Pride, working on issues she is passionate about. You can read Växjö Municipality’s press release on Aslı Ceren Aslan’s arrival here.

Since her arrival in Växjo, Aslı has continued publishing articles on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights in Turkey and globally and has started learning Swedish. She is also currently working on a book examining the impact of the political climate in Turkey on people’s everyday lives.

Växjö has been a member of ICORN since 2012 and was the fifth Swedish city to join the network. Since then, Växjö has hosted three other ICORN residents, including writer, critic, and editor Nasrin Madani and journalist and political analyst Erol Özkoray. Växjö City of Refuge runs its ICORN residency in close cooperation with the House of Free Speech amongst other local cultural and literary organisations in the area.

For more information, read Växjö’s ICORN City of Refuge profile and Aslı Ceren Aslan's ICORN Resident profile.

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