The programming team are delighted to announce that Daniel Gorman, Director at English PEN, will open this year’s CILIP Leadership Conference, heralding our headline theme of intellectual freedom.
English PEN are one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations globally, championing the freedom to write and the freedom to read around the world.
As Gorman comments: “English PEN was founded by writers, for writers. We are one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations, and the first to point out that freedom of expression and literature are inseparable – a principle we continue to champion today.”
“We campaign for writers across the world and celebrate contemporary international writing through events, prizes, our translation programme, and our online magazine PEN Transmissions. We envision a world in which freedom of expression and equity of opportunity for readers and writers can be enjoyed universally.”
Intellectual freedom (and its associated themes of censorship, freedom of expression and information rights) is the bedrock of professional practice for our community. Everywhere around the world it is coming under assault, whether through totalitarianism, populism, misinformation, insularity or a declining public realm.
The 2024 conference will convene a global community that is committed to freedom of expression and freedom of access to ideas and learning. Join us as we discuss this – and more – over two days of inspiring talks, workshops and networking.
