Side-events

The participants can choose among these workshops:
Confronting history
Two months prior to the full-scale attack on Ukraine, Russian authorities banned Memorial, the human rights group dedicated to the restoration of historical truth about Soviet crimes. The war against history laid the foundations for the real war against Ukraine. How can individuals, communities and states come to terms with historical trauma and crimes?
In this workshop we will discuss experiences of historical reckoning from Russia, Norway, and South America to share lessons learned and identify ways to face the past in order to break free from the cycle of denial, repression and violence.
A Norwegian Helsinki Committee (Den norske Helsingforskomiteen) side-event at WEXFO 2023.

Copyright and Freedom of Speech
The copyright system secures an economic cycle of rights and remuneration, enabling authors, composers, and visual artists to create works for the benefit of the general public. This cycle is a fundamental premise for the creative economy, one of the largest in the world. How can copyright legislation and modern effective management of rights serve as a key factor in securing a free and flourishing discourse?
A workshop on copyright as a tool for enabling free practice of speech in a society.
A Kopinor (The Norwegian Reproduction Rights Organisation) side-event at WEXFO 2023.
Fighting bad speech with better speech: From cliché to reality
In this workshop, we will focus on how freedom of expression and access to information can be used to fight “bad speech”, whether to counter disinformation, propaganda or hate speech. Speaking back, rather than limiting, censoring and stopping speech. As individuals, our intuitive response of hate and threats, will often be: fight, flight or freeze. However, by becoming conscious about our fears and through cooperation and mutual support, other strategies can be realized. We will facilitate a conversation on successful campaigns and initiatives where people have encountered hate and disinformation with arguments and discussions, rather than shouting out for control and censorship.
A Justitia/Future of Free Speech and the Fritt Ord Foundation side-event at WEXFO 2023.
Freedom of Expression and the protection of artistic rights: Are we doing enough?
Carving out a space for free expression has always been a high-cost fight for artists under autocratic rule. Today, that space is contested even in some established western democracies. This session will present you with real life models and experiences from Africa, the Middle East and Norway of those working effortlessly to salvage a space for free expression for artists. How can we ensure more international engagement in protecting the rights of artists at risk?
A Mimeta and ICORN side-event at WEXFO 2023.
Freedom to publish and read: How can the stakeholders join forces?
This workshop will aim at discussing how joint action can make a difference. In an interactive workshop we will look at the work the organizations are doing and present specific cases that have challenged the freedom to publish and read and how it has been reacted to. Can we increase the cooperation?
Stakeholder organizations in the book sector in cooperation side-event at WEXFO 2023.
How to tackle the challenge to freedom to publish?
An interactive workshop for publishers looking at specific cases that have challenged the freedom to publish and how the sector has responded. The workshop will then identify the range of challenges and how such cases can be tackled better.
An International Publishers Association side-event at WEXFO 2023
Is there a shrinking of civic spaces, and if so, is it a threat to the democracy?
Civic space provides the framework in which people and groups can meaningfully participate in the political, economic, social, and cultural life of their societies, exercising the right to express views, assemble, associate, and engage in dialogue with one another and with authorities.
Participation and the right of access to information is a core component of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and prerequisite for a well-functioning democracy.
How can we defend our civic spaces and ensure the right to civil society participation?
A Norwegian Library Association (Bibliotekforeningen) side-event at WEXFO 2023
Self-censorship in art
“Self-censorship and the fear creative artists can have of the ideological and political codes of behaviour that are insisted upon within the liberal left”. Key-note speech by Kate Pendry, a British actress and playwright resident in Oslo, followed by a panel discussion.
A Norwegian Artist Network (Kunstnernettverket) side-event at WEXFO 2023.
Supporting free and independent media in Ukraine: Lessons learned and the way forward.
Ukraine’s goal is to develop in the direction of a stronger democracy with press freedom, free speech, and transparency. How can the international community best provide support to country in war and for a future Ukraine with a stronger democratic framework? To this roundtable meeting we will invite key stakeholders to share lessons learned from the last years support to Ukraine, and to look for tools for the way forward.
A Norwegian Press Association and Norwegian Media Association (Norsk Presseforbund og Mediebedriftenes Landsforening) side-event at WEXFO 2023
Technology roundtable meeting In a World of Conflicts: Are Tech Companies strengthening or weakening the Freedom of Expression?
An IMS (International Media Support) and Norwegian Media Association (Mediebedriftenes Landsforening) side-event at WEXFO 2023