2022 Oslo Freedom Forum: Full Schedule

14:30 CEST

Defending the Defenders: The Right to Protect the Environment

Defending the Defenders is a global impact platform at OFF dedicated to raising awareness of the perils faced by environmental activists, journalists, and others who work to protect the environment in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes. Author and journalist Anjan Sundaram will moderate a discussion with environmental activists from Cambodia to Uganda.

Speakers

Anjan Sundaram

Author & Journalist

Anjan Sundaram is a journalist, TV presenter and author of Stringer: A Reporter's Journey in the Congo and Bad News: Last Journalist in a Dictatorship. His forthcoming book is Breakup: A Marriage in Wartime. He has reported on conflict, rainforest communities, artificial intelligence... Read More →

Alex Gonzalez Davidson

Environmental Activist & President of Mother Nature Cambodia

Mónica López Baltodano

Nicaraguan Human Rights Lawyer

John Unzima

Ugandan journalist and environmental activist

Monday May 23, 2022 14:30 - 15:20 CEST
Lille Sal

Creativity - Resilience - Movements

15:40 CEST

Fighting Transnational Repression Against Journalists

Saudi Arabia’s murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Belarus’ hijacking of a plane to arrest opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, and Rwanda’s forceful rendition of Hotel Rwanda hero Paul Rusesabagina are the most well-known examples of transnational repression by authoritarian regimes. They are part of a larger trend documented in a recent Freedom House report with more than 600 examples of regimes (most notoriously China, Iran, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey) aggressively reaching across the globe to silence or intimidate dissidents in exile. This panel will examine the practice of transnational repression, particularly as it targets independent journalists.

Moderators

Megha Rajagopalan

Investigative journalist

Speakers

Rushan Abbas

Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs

Masih Alinejad

Iranian journalist and activist

Can Dündar

Turkish journalist and documentarian

Monday May 23, 2022 15:40 - 16:20 CEST
Lille Sal

Creativity - Resilience - Movements

16:30 CEST

The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs: A Conversation with Nury Turkel and Garry Kasparov

Nury Turkel was born in a re-education camp in East Turkistan — China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region — during the Cultural Revolution. Upon arriving in the United States in 1995, he was granted asylum and has relentlessly advocated for the rights of the Uyghur people. In his newest memoir, No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs, he details the Chinese government’s long history of persecuting Uyghurs, dives into his personal experiences, and urges the international community to hold China accountable. In conversation with HRF Chairman Garry Kasparov, Turkel lays out the truth about the Chinese government’s genocidal actions in the Uyghur Region

Speakers

Garry Kasparov

Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation

Nury Turkel

Uyghur advocate and author of No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs

Monday May 23, 2022 16:30 - 17:00 CEST
Lille Sal

Accountability - Justice - Reform

17:10 CEST

Sportswashing: From the Beijing Genocide Games to Qatar’s FIFA World Cup Migrant Workers’ Crisis

2022 has been referred to as “sportswashing’s biggest year,” due to the Beijing Olympics and FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This session will share behind-the-scenes stories, tips, and know-hows on how we can all join to raise awareness about how authoritarian regimes weaponize global games to whitewash their abuses.

Moderators

Karim Zidan

Author and journalist

Speakers

Malcolm Bidali

Labor rights activist and blogger

Malcolm Bidali is the co-founder of Migrant Defenders, a Kenya-based civil society organization defending the rights of migrant workers in the Middle East. Bidali is a former migrant worker in Qatar who became a prominent whistleblower by anonymously documenting and exposing brutal conditions for migrant laborers in the lead up to Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In May 2021, Bidali was arrested by Qatari security services following a phishing attack to unmask his identity. He was held incommunicado and in solitary confinement for nearly a... Read More →

Chemi Lhamo

Tibetan activist and community organizer

Lise Klaveness

President of the Norwegian Football Federation, lawyer, and human rights advocate

Monday May 23, 2022 17:10 - 18:00 CEST
Lille Sal

Accountability - Justice - Reform

14:30 CEST

LGBTQI+ Rights When Democracy Dies

Minorities, and in particular LGBTQI+ communities around the world, have often been used as a scapegoat for dictators and rising autocrats. Whether it is under the Taliban in Afghanistan or under Putin in Russia, the rights of LGBTQI+ people are among the first to get trampled. This panel will discuss the challenges faced by this community under authoritarian rule and how the democratic world can help champion their causes.

Moderators

Georges Azzi

Lebanese LGBTQI+ Activist

Speakers

Tina Orban

Hungarian trans activist and Vice President of the Transvanilla Transgender Association

Kimahli Powell

Executive Director of Rainbow Railroad

Tuesday May 24, 2022 14:30 - 15:05 CEST
Lille Sal

Creativity - Resilience - Movements

15:15 CEST

The Rise of Stablecoins in Emerging Markets and Authoritarian Regimes

One of the biggest new financial innovations in the past five years is the stablecoin: a virtual asset that is pegged to the dollar, but can be used by anyone. With a market capitalization north of $150 billion, stablecoins are used heavily by individuals who cannot otherwise access dollars in Argentina, Cuba, Lebanon, and beyond. Join the creator of the world’s biggest stablecoin, Tether, and a Nigerian entrepreneur who can attest to the remarkable rise of stablecoins in her own country.

Moderators

Alejandro Machado

Co-Founder of the Open Money Initiative

Speakers

Paolo Ardoino

Chief Technology Officer, Tether

Ire Aderinokun

Co-Founder and VP of Engineering, Helicarrier

Tuesday May 24, 2022 15:15 - 15:35 CEST
Lille Sal

Financial Freedom

15:35 CEST

Is Bitcoin Compatible with Democracy?

We have seen how pro-democracy activists in Belarus, Russia, and Togo have turned to Bitcoin to keep their advocacy afloat when their bank accounts get shut down. Simultaneously, we have also seen how a populist leader has imposed Bitcoin on El Salvador from the top down. Hear from activists from all three countries about whether Bitcoin is compatible with liberal democracy.

Moderators

Anita Posch

Host of “The Anita Posch” Show

Speakers

Jaroslav Likhachevskiy

Co-Founder, BYSOL

Farida Nabourema

Togolese human rights defender

Nelson Rauda

Salvadoran investigative journalist, El Faro

Leonid Volkov

Russian anti-corruption advocate

Tuesday May 24, 2022 15:35 - 15:55 CEST
Lille Sal

Financial Freedom

16:10 CEST

When Systems Fail: Understanding the Intersection of Authoritarian Regimes and Modern Slavery

This panel discussion, hosted by the Freedom Fund, will explore the correlation between the rise in authoritarian regimes and the rise in modern slavery. Looking to history and learning from the present, panelists will discuss how slavery has been wielded as a way for those regimes to maintain power and how affected communities have stood in resistance to change the future.

Moderators

Amy Rahe

Managing Director at the Freedom Fund and anti-trafficking advocate

Speakers

Jessie Bruner

Associate Director of Strategy and Program Development at the Center for Human Rights and International Justice at Stanford University

Filmon Debru

Eritrean human trafficking survivor

Leonardo Sakamoto

Brazilian journalist and anti-forced labor advocate

Tuesday May 24, 2022 16:10 - 17:00 CEST
Lille Sal

Accountability - Justice - Reform

17:15 CEST

How Can Civil Society Counter a Coup d’Etat?

In the last year, we have seen several coups d’état across the world, from West Africa to Southeast Asia. While executive power usurpations are characterized by military support, there are several measures civil society and pro-democracy movements can take to counter and block coup leaders’ procedures. In this panel, we will hear from leading experts on nonviolent strategies, as well as civil society leaders who will share how advocates, non-governmental institutions, and the international community can help counteract coups and restore democracy.

Moderators

Creativity - Resilience - Movements