Index on Censorship, a non-profit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide, has announced LGBTQ+ activist Ailbhe Smyth as one of three judges of its Freedom of Expression Awards, which celebrate individuals or groups who have had a significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world.
Index on Censorship publishes work by censored writers and artists in its magazine, promotes debate through its events programme, and monitors threats to free speech through its advocacy and campaigning work. The organisation believes that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution, and aims to raise awareness about threats to free expression and the value of free speech.
Ailbhe Smyth was the founding head of Women’s Studies at UCD (University College Dublin) and is a long-time feminist and LGBTQ+ activist. She played a leading role in the same-sex marriage campaign in 2015, and was co-director of the right to abortion campaign in Ireland in 2018. In 2019, she was included in the Time magazine list of the World’s 100 Most Influential People.
Ailbhe, who will be joined on the panel by Anish Kapoor and Fatima Bhutto, said: “I am honoured to be invited to be a judge for the Freedom of Expression Awards. At this time of intense global crisis – human and environmental – and with democracy itself under threat in so many parts of the world, it is all the more vital for us to stand up for hard-won human rights, for equality and for justice for all. The right to express ourselves freely is, I believe, fundamental to our human existence and must be both celebrated and, wherever necessary, defended with spirit and determination.”
This year’s winners will be announced at a gala celebration in London on September 12, 2021.
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