Opening of the Third International Conference of the Beacon for Freedom of Expression
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Alexandria—
Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria, inaugurated the Third International Conference of the Beacon for Freedom of Expression, held at the BA, on Tuesday, 22 April 2008.
Dr. Serageldin started the session by welcoming HE the Norwegian Ambassador and the distinguished guests. He introduced the four distinguished speakers: Mr. Paul Sturges, Chair of Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE), IFLA; Maher Nasser, Director of the United Nations Information Centre in Cairo; Dr. Hisham El Sherif, Commissioner and Member of the Steering Committee of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC); and Mr. Helge M. Sonneland, Secretary-General, Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs.
In a video recording, Paul Sturges spoke about the connection between freedom of expression and the libraries. He referred to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which stipulates human’s right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. He called for free access to information, except in very limited cases that would threaten national security. Sturges raised questions on copyrights and Intellectual Property Rights; and called on individuals to speak out and practice their freedom of expression.
Maher Nasser spoke about the Alliance of Civilizations, which was formed in response to the call by Spain and Turkey. He quoted Kofi Anan, Former UN Secretary General as stating “rights carry inherent responsibilities…” in the 2006 meeting of the High Level Group for Alliance of Civilizations. He also pointed to Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General’s call for free, independent, and pluralistic press, as a fundamental human right.
Hisham El-Sherif stated that freedom is indispensible for all individuals and is a basic element for progress and development. He identified the difference between seeking, obtaining, and making information available to all and maintained that dialogue, speaking out and listening, tolerance, and mutual respect are prerequisites to any progress of any society. On the political, social and economic dimensions of freedom, El-Sherif concluded that information is essential for a society to choose its leaders and to improve people’s livelihoods.
Helge Sonneland referred on the bibliographic database of the Beacon for Freedom of Expression, dedicated to the New Library of Alexandria. He called for dialogue among cultures with respect to peoples’ cultural differences stating that differences enrich humanity and do not threaten identities. He urged dialogue between religions to diffuse conflict and hatred. Sonneland also referred to the Norwegian Government support to the development of the Beacon for Freedom of Expression database, and making it available to the public and accessible in major languages.
Dr. Ismail Serageldin discussed the limits and boundaries of freedom of expression. He said that the 20th century witnessed bloodshed, yet was a wonderful century of emancipation; colonies liberated; women rights accepted; and human solidarity taking root. He spoke about the barriers to freedom of expression, and added that political barriers are the smallest of all, and how information can be unaffordable in many cases. He concluded that insulting and obnoxious speeches need protection, since acceptable speeches are already acceptable. He called on the audience to reclaim their heritage of competence; battle for freedom of expression; and live in harmony and freedom regardless of income, beliefs, or political ideas.