Event
Reflections on Freedom of Artistic Expression
Paris, July 11
Tue, 11 July, 2pm - 6pm CEST
Centre Culturel Irlandais
5 rue des Irlandais
75005 Paris
Last year, the centenary of James Joyce's groundbreaking novel, Ulysses, brought attention to the censorship and criticism the author faced. This issue of censorship, attacks, and pressure on artists and writers to conform remains a significant concern worldwide. Artists and cultural workers encounter numerous challenges in exercising their right to artistic freedom, including restrictive laws, governmental and non-governmental threats, and self-censorship.
As Ireland celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Permanent Representation of Ireland to UNESCO has organized a half-day conference to address these challenges. The event aims to bring together practitioners, civil society representatives, and policymakers to discuss UNESCO's role in protecting artistic expression and freedom of expression. The conference will explore international, regional, and national human rights instruments, such as the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which safeguard the rights of artists and writers while tackling the obstacles they face.
This inclusive discussion will feature contributions from writers, artists, academics, civil society organizations, and policy experts from international institutions. The event underscores Ireland's commitment to human rights and its dedication to promoting and protecting artistic expression and freedom of expression in line with the 2005 UNESCO Convention and the 1980 Recommendation on the Status of the Artist.
The conference is organised by the Permanent Representation of Ireland to UNESCO on issues related to Freedom of Artistic Expression
14:00 - Welcome and Registration
14:30 - Opening remarks
Dearbhail McDonald
Dearbhail McDonald is an award winning Irish journalist, author, broadcaster and motivational speaker. A global Eisenhower Fellow, Dearbhail has presented "Sunday with Dearbhail" on BBC Radio Ulster. The former Group Business Editor of Independent News And Media is a recipient of the Mary Cummins Award for Women of Outstanding Achievement in Media. The Newry native chairs the strategy committee of the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris and is a member of the board of Fighting Words, Ireland’s national creative writing centre for children and young adults. Dearbhail received an inaugural Dublin City University Special Alumni Achievement award for her contribution to public affairs journalism and is an Irish Tatler Media Woman of the Year. Dearbhail holds an LL.B (Law) from Trinity College Dublin as well as a Masters Degree in Journalism from Dublin City University.
Ambassador Gerard Keown
Ambassador Gerard Keown took up duty as Permanent Representative of Ireland to the OECD on 20 October 2021. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1996. Prior to taking up his current post, Keown served as UN Director and Head of UN Security Council Task Team (2020-2021). He has held the post of Diplomatic Advisor in the Department of Finance (2018–2020), Ambassador to the Republic of Poland (2015 – 2018), and Director of Strategy (2013–2015), where he coordinated a review of Irish foreign policy, The Global Island, Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World. He has also held the posts of Director for Disarmament (2013), Deputy Director of the Irish Chairmanship-in-Office of the OSCE Taskforce (2011–2012), Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Ireland to Japan (2005–2010), and European Correspondent (2004–2005). In addition to postings in Poland and Japan, Ambassador Keown worked for the OSCE Mission to Bosnia & Herzegovina, at the Embassy of Ireland to Austria, and at the Anglo-Irish Secretariat in Belfast, and is the author of First of the Small Nations: The Beginnings of Irish Foreign Policy in the Interwar Years (OUP, 2016) and a number of articles on the history of Irish foreign policy. He is committed to promoting gender equality, diversity and inclusion. He holds a BA and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford.
14:45 - Keynote speakers
Ernesto Ottone R.
Ernesto Ottone R. is the Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO. Prior to this position, Ottone R. served as Chile’s first Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage from 2015 to 2018. As Minister of Culture, he created a Department of First Peoples, a Migrants Unit and strengthened copyright laws and heritage protections. During this time, he also chaired the Regional Centre for the Promotion of Books in Latin America and the Caribbean (2016 – 2017). From 2011 to 2015, Ottone R. served as Director-General of the Artistic and Cultural Extension Center of the University of Chile, which manages the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile, the Chilean National Ballet (BANCH), the Chile Symphony Choir and the Vocal Camerata. From 2001 to 2010, he held the position of Executive Director at the Matucana 100 Cultural Center in Santiago. Ottone R. holds a Master's degree in Management of Cultural Institutions and Policies from the University of Paris IX Dauphine (1998) and a Bachelor of Arts in theatre from the University of Chile (1995).
Julie Trébault
Julie Trébault is the director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection project. A highly respected leader in the art world, she brings skills, experience, and a network to launch a new support system for artists at risk worldwide. Prior to joining PEN America, she served as director of public programs at the Museum of the City of New York, where she built a robust roster of panel discussions, performances, screenings, and symposia spanning New York City’s arts, culture, and history. She previously was director of public programs at the Center for Architecture. Before moving to New York, she worked at the National Museum of Ethnology in The Netherlands, where she built a network of 116 museums across the globe that shared a virtual collection of masterpieces and developed an innovative array of online and mobile applications and exhibitions to make the collection as widely accessible as possible. From 2004 until 2007, she was Head of Higher Education and Academic Events at the Musée du quai Branly (Paris), where she conceived and implemented a policy for higher education by creating an international network of universities, graduate schools, and research institutes. Trébault holds a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration from the Sorbonne University, a Master’s Degree in Archeology from the University of Strasbourg, and teaches at Fordham University.
15:30 - Break with spoken word performance
Chinedum Muotto
Chinedum Muotto is a Nigerian-born, Dublin-based interdisciplinary artist with interests ranging from performance, to music, game design and visual art. In 2022, he shifted his artistic focus towards the performing arts including directing, acting, music and theatre.
16:00 - Panel discussion with moderated Q&A session
Sharon Barry
Sharon Barry is the Director of Culture Ireland responsible for promoting Irish arts worldwide - creating and supporting opportunities for Irish artists and companies to present and promote their work at strategic international festivals and venues, developing platforms to present outstanding Irish creative work to international audiences through showcases at key global arts events, including the Edinburgh Festival and Venice Biennale. Sharon is also the project lead for the Basic Income for the Arts project a three-year programme researching the impact of a basic income on artists and creative arts workers. Sharon is also responsible for liaising and implementing cultural elements of the Irish Government’s Global Ireland strategy, EU co-ordination including Council of Culture Ministers, Cultural Affairs Committee and OMC groups, UNESCO Intangible Heritage, City of Literature and City of Film.
Sara Whyatt
Sara Whyatt is a campaigner and researcher on freedom of artistic expression and human rights, notably as the director of PEN International’s freedom of expression program for over 20 years and previously as the coordinator of Amnesty International’s Asia Research Department. At PEN, she worked with its global membership mobilizing its campaigns for writers at risk as well as on other issues affecting freedom of expression including anti-terror legislation, criminal defamation laws, and actions by non-state entities, among others. In 2013, she took up freelance consultancy, working on projects for Freemuse, Culture Action Europe, PEN International, and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange. She also works with UNESCO developing training programs for governments and CSOs, as well as monitoring and reporting strategies to promote artistic freedom under the 2005 Convention.
Julie Trébault
Julie Trébault is the director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection project. A highly respected leader in the art world, she brings skills, experience, and a network to launch a new support system for artists at risk worldwide. Prior to joining PEN America, she served as director of public programs at the Museum of the City of New York, where she built a robust roster of panel discussions, performances, screenings, and symposia spanning New York City’s arts, culture, and history. She previously was director of public programs at the Center for Architecture. Before moving to New York, she worked at the National Museum of Ethnology in The Netherlands, where she built a network of 116 museums across the globe that shared a virtual collection of masterpieces and developed an innovative array of online and mobile applications and exhibitions to make the collection as widely accessible as possible. From 2004 until 2007, she was Head of Higher Education and Academic Events at the Musée du quai Branly (Paris), where she conceived and implemented a policy for higher education by creating an international network of universities, graduate schools, and research institutes. Trébault holds a Master’s Degree in Arts Administration from the Sorbonne University, a Master’s Degree in Archeology from the University of Strasbourg, and teaches at Fordham University.
Chinedum Muotto
Chinedum Muotto is a Nigerian-born, Dublin-based interdisciplinary artist with interests ranging from performance, to music, game design and visual art. In 2022, he shifted his artistic focus towards the performing arts including directing, acting, music and theatre.