PEN International closes ‘Writers in a World at War’, its 90th Congress
Photo credit: Roberk Brooks
4 October 2024: PEN International’s 90th Congress, themed ‘Writers in a World at War’, took place in Oxford from September 24th to 27th. Delegates from over 90 countries convened against the backdrop of ongoing global crises to explore crucial issues, including the significance of the PEN Charter, the role of literature ‘across frontiers,’ and the future of PEN’s principles and mission of solidarity.
Palestinian author Adania Shibli inaugurated PEN International’s 90th Congress with a poignant keynote address, intertwining personal narratives with broader insights on silence, language, and the colonial effects on Palestinian identity. Welcoming remarks were delivered by Burhan Sonmez (President of PEN International), Margaret Busby (President of English PEN), and Anthony Brewerton (Bodleian Libraries).
During this Congress, the Assembly of Delegates of PEN International adopted two significant resolutions condemning the severe violations of freedom of expression in Palestine and Israel following the events of 7 October 2023, and addressing the urgent need for protection mechanisms for writers at risk worldwide. The Assembly of Delegates called for swift and coordinated action from all sectors—governments, civil society, and cultural institutions—to safeguard and advocate for justice, equity, and human rights for writers in Palestine, Israel, and beyond.
Furthermore, PEN International launched its report, Emergency Assistance: The Challenges in Ensuring the Safety of Writers in Times of Crisis. This policy dialogue illustrates the spectrum of challenges PEN International has faced in assisting writers forced to flee from their homes in countries such as Afghanistan, Belarus, Eritrea, and Nicaragua. The launch of Emergency Assistance comes at a critical moment as the repression of writers – as well as of many other civil society actors – intensifies, and the wight of authoritarianism deepens worldwide. Writers, like their journalist and human rights defender peers, face persecution, exile, imprisonment, harassment, or even death for their free expression. However, unlike other at-risk groups, they lack access to necessary and timely protections.
Other highlights featured “Literature knows no frontiers”, a panel discussion between award winning writer Elif Shafak and David Roche, Non-Executive Chairman for The London Book Fair, and the panels “Equity in Expression”, “Writers in times of War (and Conflict)” and “Young Voices”, with the participation of delegates from PEN Centres in Argentina, Bolivia Chiapas, Guatemala, Norway and Ukraine, among others.
In addition to these discussions, English PEN hosted: “Power, privilege and equity of expression: ways of practicing global solidarity”, with Journalist Nedim Türfent, investigative filmmaker Mahi Ramakrishnan, and writer Gioconda Belli, and “Why the right to protest is a free expression issue”, with writer Hanna Komar, academic and activist Miyo Peck-Suzuki, activist and filmmaker Sanaa Seif, and legal academic David Mead, chaired by Director of English PEN Daniel Gorman.
The 90th Congress also saw the participation of acclaimed writers Margie Orford (Former President of PEN South Africa), Sir Ben Okri (member of PEN International Writers Circle), Boris A Novak (PEN International Vice President), and Jennifer Finney Boylan, (President PEN America), as well as PEN International’s friends Peter MacDonald (University of Oxford) and Rachel Potter (University of East Anglia).
Final key moments included the re-election of Burhan Sonmez as PEN International President, the election of Arne Svingen as International Secretary, Kim Echlin as Board Member, and Carles Torner as Vice President, as well as the approval of a Declaration on Sami Language and Literature by PEN International’s Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee. PEN Dominican Republic was officially recognised as the newest PEN Centre, and the Young Writers Committee was established as PEN International’s fifth and most recent Committee.
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