Sharing perspectives on free expression and democracy at Folk och Kultur
Five former ICORN residents and two ICORN coordinators took part in the Folk och Kultur (People and Culture) convention held in the Swedish city of Eskilstuna between 8th and 11th of February 2023.
Ali Al Ibrahim, Parvin Ardalan, Khaled Harara, Jude Dibia, Yasmine El Baramawy, and Karin Hansson participated in three events, part of the programme of the Folk och Kultur convention. The three conversations focused on the importance of the work of Cities of Refuge in fostering freedom of expression and democracy, the issue of banned Persian literature in Iran, and on the City of Malmö’s approach to ICORN residencies.
On Wednesday afternoon, Syrian journalist and former ICORN resident in Jönköping, Ali Al Ibrahim was first to give his contribution. The discussion was organised by the cultural departments of the Västra Götaland and the Jönköping County regions and focused on the role of Cities of Refuge in upholding democracy and freedom of expression locally and nationally. Using the examples of Västra Götaland and Jönköping County, the event aimed to provide inspiration and information on the work of Cities of Refuge. The other participants in the conversation were regional cultural and political representatives Kerstin Hammas, Carl Forsberg, the chair of PEN Sweden Jesper Bengtsson, and writer and journalist Anders Rydell who moderated the discussion.
Journalist and women’s rights activist, and former ICORN resident in Malmö, Parvin Ardalan, who currently works at the The Dawit Isaak Library of banned literature, was next to offer her expertise on the topic of banned Persian literature in Iran. The Thursday afternoon discussed the mechanisms of censorship and the nature of resistance in Iran before and since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, drawing on the exhibition of banned Persian literature currently on display at the Dawit Issak Library. The conversation was moderated by Karin Hansson, ICORN’s National Coordinator in Sweden and was also joined by writer and translator Azar Mahloujian and Ulrika Ahlberg, a librarian at the Dawit Issak Library.
The final event which saw ICORN participation highlighted the work of the City of Malmö since it became ICORN City of Refuge in 2010. Participants in the conversation were ICORN residents, Yasmine El Baramawy, Khaled Harara, Parvin Ardalan, ICORN coordinator in Malmö and former ICORN resident Jude Dibia, and Karin Hansson. The panel discussed the importance of Cities of Refuge in upholding freedom of expression and democracy in the current political climate and touched upon the factors which make ICORN residencies a success for residents and Cities of Refuge alike.
Folk och Kultur is made up of talks, debates, seminars, and a rich cultural and artistic programme aimed at inspiring conversations on the importance of art and culture in democratic civic societies. The convention was initiated by Länsteatrarna i Sverige, Regional Musik i Sverige and Länsmuseernas Samarbetsråd in 2018. Folk och Kultur is currently organised in close collaboration with Region Sörmland and Eskilstuna Municipality, where it has taken place since its inception.
Eskilstuna is an ICORN City of Refuge which joined ICORN in 2014. Since then it has hosted two ICORN residents- journalist and blogger Ali Kalaei from Iran and writer, poet, and musician Ola Husamou from Syria.
