The Oslo Freedom Forum, to take place April 26-29 in Norway, will gather some of the world’s most effective human rights defenders to share their experience, expertise, and advice.
Participants include Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, North Korean dissenter Kang Chol-hwan, former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, and Sudanese reformer Lubna Hussain, who was prosecuted under Islamic law for wearing trousers. World leaders like Poland’s Lech Walesa, Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, and Estonia’s Mart Laar will present, as will technology pioneers such as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and entrepreneur Peter Thiel. Other notable speakers include Russia’s democracy advocate and chess master Garry Kasparov, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, abolitionist and explorer Benjamin Skinner, Spanish human rights judge Baltasar Garzón, former Cuban political prisoner Armando Valladares, and Chechen lawyer Lidia Yusupova, hailed as the bravest woman in Europe. Read more
