Freedom of Speech and Censorship in Sectarian Lebanon

The AUB Secular Club and the Museum Of Censorship Club – AUB cordially invite you to a panel discussion this Thursday.

The event will address three main aspects:
– An overview of the limitations to free speech in Lebanon at the institutional/legal level.
– The impact of sectarianism at the political and society levels in allowing/encouraging censorship.
– The role of existing initiatives to protect free speech, and address possible solutions to increase the realm of freedom.

The panel consists of four speakers and will be moderated by Professor Mark Daou:

– Ayman Mhanna: Current Executive Director of the Beirut-based SK_Eyes and an advocate for freedom of expression. The Foundation’s SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom has become the leading press freedom organization in the Middle East, monitoring violations targeting media professionals and providing journalists with training, financial and legal support.

-Nizar Saghieh: Beirut-based lawyer, legal researcher and The Legal Agenda’s Chief Editor. It is a critical and multidisciplinary non-governmental organization, based in Lebanon. It monitors and analyzes law and public policy in Lebanon, specifically, and the Arab region, generally. The organization provides a forum for citizens, experts, and researchers to analyze, critique, and debate local and regional legal developments with an emphasis on public accountability.

-Joumana Haddad: Joumana Haddad is a poet, translator, journalist and women rights advocate. She is the head of the cultural pages for An Nahar newspaper, as well as the editor-in-chief of Jasad magazine, a controversial Arabic magazine specialized in the literature and arts of the body.

-Gino Raidy: Renowned Lebanese blogger and Board member of the non-governmental organization, MARCH. Their mission is to inform the public about any censorship case related to art and culture in order to hold the government accountable for its actions and decisions. They also fight censorship in all its form on all kind of artistic and cultural works, including lobbying for a new law.

– Mark Daou: Professor of Advertising and Public Relations at the Media and Communications Department at AUB.

The discussion will be in Arabic and will be followed by a Q&A session.

Location: West Hall, Bathish Auditorium.