Open Week

(16-21 May, 2008) Open Week includes a festival and a seminar focusing on freedom of speech. Taking place around the Norwegian national holiday, the 17th May, it will include participants from the International Cities of Refuge Network’s 2008 General Assembly. Open Week will combine a celebration of, and a debate around, the concept of Freedom of Speech.

The festival will provide an arena for artistic display and give voice to local, national and international artists who normally wouldn’t have the privilege of media interest nor the attention of the general public.

Our Freedom of Speech seminar will include not only City of Refuge administrators, but also their guest writers, PEN members, politicians, and international organisations working for freedom of speech. Stavanger is known for its dedication to these issues, and Open Week will further this work—focusing on, and giving a status report from the front lines in the fight for freedom of speech.