http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/frontpage Welcome to the Freedom of Expression Project. Networked digital communications are spreading across the globe, transforming millions of lives. Through communications technologies, people across the world have new opportunities to exchange ideas, realise their human creativity and organise for social and political change. Yet within this environment there are some significant threats to rights and freedoms. And many people do not yet benefit from what it has to offer. This Project is a global collaboration to shape the networked communications environment as it continues to develop. It aims to build a communications environment that: respects and promotes human rights gives all people and communities opportunities fully to realise their human potential. It is directed by a global group of Project partners, organisations committed to working together to advance these aims. It is coordinated by Global Partners and Associates and funded by the Ford Foundation. Click on About the Project for information about the Project’s work and how it has developed. All the Project’s research to date is available at Project Research. We are now developing and consulting on a set of rights-based principles to guide policy in the communications environment. See the Current Work Section to find out more. Visit the Resources section for useful links to other organisations, initiatives and research and policy news. en http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/communications+in+the+public+interest <h2>A framework for policy reform in national networked environments<br /> June 2009</h2> <p>This series of independent research reports explores relationships between communications environments, <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term20"><acronym title="Freedom of Expression: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the founding document of the modern human rights movement, speaks of “freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want” as its core aspirations. Freedom of speech is guaranteed under international law through numerous human rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the UDHR. The term freedom of expression is preferred within international conceptions of human rights, as freedom of expression is not confined to verbal speech but is understood to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. It therefore embraces cultural expression and the arts as much as political speech. Importantly, the exchange of opinions, ideas and information should be capable of being a public act, not something confined to private discourse, because it is in this sense that it underpins democratic freedoms such as the right to form political parties, the right to share political ideas etc. Freedom of expression is often regarded as a foundation right as its existence helps guarantee other rights and freedoms. Without freedom of expression, it would be difficult to guarantee many of the rights in the UDHR; social justice would not be obtainable; and good governance seriously hindered. ">freedom of expression</acronym></a> and the public interest in Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya and Pakistan. The research was undertaken by partner organisations in the Freedom of Expression Project. </p> <p><a href="http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/communications+in+the+public+interest">read more</a></p> http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/communications+in+the+public+interest#comment Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:24:43 +0100 Lisa Horner 256 at http://freedomofexpression.org.uk http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/values+principles+and+rights+in+internet+governance <p>Max Senges and Lisa Horner<br /> August 2009</p> <p>This paper examines whether policy frameworks based on values and principles might help to build an internet and wider communications environments that support <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term22"><acronym title="Human Rights: Human rights are those entitlements the protection of which is regarded as a necessary condition for a fully realised human existence. Their protection involves supporting the basic conditions of human existence, the ability of people to function in civil society and as political beings, and the defence of their cultural expression (including language). Many countries have their own Bills of Rights, which are often the product of their own history and circumstances, both in content and manner of enforcement. The agreed definitions of rights are found at the international level in the three documents that make up the International Bill of Rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC). ">human rights</acronym></a>. </p> <p><a href="http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/values+principles+and+rights+in+internet+governance">read more</a></p> http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/values+principles+and+rights+in+internet+governance#comment Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:37:11 +0100 Lisa Horner 260 at http://freedomofexpression.org.uk http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/rights+and+principles+at+the+internet+governance+forum <p>The <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term20"><acronym title="Freedom of Expression: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the founding document of the modern human rights movement, speaks of “freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want” as its core aspirations. Freedom of speech is guaranteed under international law through numerous human rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the UDHR. The term freedom of expression is preferred within international conceptions of human rights, as freedom of expression is not confined to verbal speech but is understood to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. It therefore embraces cultural expression and the arts as much as political speech. Importantly, the exchange of opinions, ideas and information should be capable of being a public act, not something confined to private discourse, because it is in this sense that it underpins democratic freedoms such as the right to form political parties, the right to share political ideas etc. Freedom of expression is often regarded as a foundation right as its existence helps guarantee other rights and freedoms. Without freedom of expression, it would be difficult to guarantee many of the rights in the UDHR; social justice would not be obtainable; and good governance seriously hindered. ">Freedom of Expression</acronym></a> Project participates in the annual <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term94"><acronym title="UN: United Nations">UN</acronym></a> <a href="http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/">Internet Governance Forum (IGF),</a> and is an active supporter of the <a href="http://internetrightsandprinciples.org/">Dynamic Coalition on Internet Rights and Principles.</a> At the 2008 Forum in Hyderabad we brought together stakeholders from civil society, business and government to discuss how we can work together to mainstream <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term22"><acronym title="Human Rights: Human rights are those entitlements the protection of which is regarded as a necessary condition for a fully realised human existence. Their protection involves supporting the basic conditions of human existence, the ability of people to function in civil society and as political beings, and the defence of their cultural expression (including language). Many countries have their own Bills of Rights, which are often the product of their own history and circumstances, both in content and manner of enforcement. The agreed definitions of rights are found at the international level in the three documents that make up the International Bill of Rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC). ">human rights</acronym></a> at the <span class="caps">IGF. </span></p> <p><a href="http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/rights+and+principles+at+the+internet+governance+forum">read more</a></p> http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/rights+and+principles+at+the+internet+governance+forum#comment Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:44:54 +0100 Lisa Horner 259 at http://freedomofexpression.org.uk http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/press+freedom+and+democratization <p>In September 2008 the <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term20"><acronym title="Freedom of Expression: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the founding document of the modern human rights movement, speaks of “freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want” as its core aspirations. Freedom of speech is guaranteed under international law through numerous human rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the UDHR. The term freedom of expression is preferred within international conceptions of human rights, as freedom of expression is not confined to verbal speech but is understood to protect any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. It therefore embraces cultural expression and the arts as much as political speech. Importantly, the exchange of opinions, ideas and information should be capable of being a public act, not something confined to private discourse, because it is in this sense that it underpins democratic freedoms such as the right to form political parties, the right to share political ideas etc. Freedom of expression is often regarded as a foundation right as its existence helps guarantee other rights and freedoms. Without freedom of expression, it would be difficult to guarantee many of the rights in the UDHR; social justice would not be obtainable; and good governance seriously hindered. ">Freedom of Expression</acronym></a> Project participated in the <a href="http://www.i-m-s.dk/">International Media Support</a> conference on <span class="caps">ICT</span>s and networked communications environments.</p> <p><a href="http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/press+freedom+and+democratization">read more</a></p> http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/press+freedom+and+democratization#comment Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:33:49 +0100 Lisa Horner 258 at http://freedomofexpression.org.uk http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/access+to+knowledge+and+freedom+of+expression <p>Consumer International has been holding a series of <a href="http://a2knetwork.org/report-cis-latin-american-regional-meeting-a2k">regional meetings</a> for <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term38"><acronym title="access to knowledge: A movement aiming to improve access across the world to: human knowledge; information; goods whose production is dependent on scientific or technical knowledge (e.g. drugs, electronic hardware); and the tools to produce them. Countries do not participate equally in the global economy, so their citizens do not have equal access to it benefits. A2K sees this as a matter of justice, liberty and economic development, as well as intellectual property rights. A group of NGOs has developed and asked WIPO to consider a draft A2K treaty.">Access to Knowledge</acronym></a> (<a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term38"><acronym title="access to knowledge: A movement aiming to improve access across the world to: human knowledge; information; goods whose production is dependent on scientific or technical knowledge (e.g. drugs, electronic hardware); and the tools to produce them. Countries do not participate equally in the global economy, so their citizens do not have equal access to it benefits. A2K sees this as a matter of justice, liberty and economic development, as well as intellectual property rights. A group of NGOs has developed and asked WIPO to consider a draft A2K treaty.">A2K</acronym></a>) advocates and practitioners. We participated in the meeting in Latin America in March 2009 to make links between the <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term22"><acronym title="Human Rights: Human rights are those entitlements the protection of which is regarded as a necessary condition for a fully realised human existence. Their protection involves supporting the basic conditions of human existence, the ability of people to function in civil society and as political beings, and the defence of their cultural expression (including language). Many countries have their own Bills of Rights, which are often the product of their own history and circumstances, both in content and manner of enforcement. The agreed definitions of rights are found at the international level in the three documents that make up the International Bill of Rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC). ">human rights</acronym></a> and <span class="caps">A2K </span>communities. </p> <p><a href="http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/access+to+knowledge+and+freedom+of+expression">read more</a></p> http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/access+to+knowledge+and+freedom+of+expression#comment Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:15:35 +0100 Lisa Horner 257 at http://freedomofexpression.org.uk http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/freedom+of+expression+project+briefing+note+june+2008 <p>Download a <span class="caps">PDF </span>copy of our most recent briefing note by clicking on the 'Attachment' link below.</p> http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/freedom+of+expression+project+briefing+note+june+2008#comment Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:35:52 +0100 Lisa Horner 247 at http://freedomofexpression.org.uk http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/public+interest+principles+for+the+networked+communications+environment <p>In 2008 we worked to define broad policy principles which, if adhered to by policy makers, business and users, could help build a communications environment that supports free expression and the public interest. You can download the current draft of these principles at the bottom of the page, <a href="http://www.freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/principles+for+a+public+interest+communications+environment">or you can read and comment online by clicking here</a> We want as many people as possible to feed into this process, so if you have any comments please get in touch. </p> <p><a href="http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/public+interest+principles+for+the+networked+communications+environment">read more</a></p> http://freedomofexpression.org.uk/resources/public+interest+principles+for+the+networked+communications+environment#comment Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:39:00 +0000 Lisa Horner 224 at http://freedomofexpression.org.uk