OSLO
FREEDOM
FORUM
Virtual Conference
Sept. 24 – 25, 2020
Schedule of Events
September 24, 2020
Marianne Hagen
State Secretary at the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Gulchehra Hoja
Uyghur journalist
Mohamed Nagi Alassam
Sudanese doctor and pro-democracy activist
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit
Thai opposition leader
Uyghur European Ensemble
Musical performance
Mainstage II (10:20 – 11:30 EDT)
Masih Alinejad
Iranian journalist and human rights activist
Christopher Balding
“Who Owns Huawei?” author and professor
Ariel Ruiz Urquiola
Cuban environmentalist and LGBTQ+ rights activist
Ahmed Albasheer
Comedy performance
Audrey Tang
Taiwan’s Digital Minister
Networking Sessions
11:30 EDT
OFF Community Mixer
Catching up with our community
11:30 EDT
Meet the Freedom Fellows
Say hello to HRF's new class of activists
Panel Discussions
13:00 EDT
Defending the Defenders: Right to Protect the Environment
CNN’s Melissa Mahtani will lead a discussion with four activists on environmental activism in Venezuela, Cambodia, Sudan, and Belarus.
- Melissa Mahtani, Senior producer/reporter for TV & Digital at CNN
- Abubakr Mohammad, Sudanese conservationist and independent researcher
- Alex Gonzalez Davidson, Environmental activist and founder of Cambodian NGO Mother Nature
- Cristina Burelli, Venezuelan-American entrepreneur and founder of V5Initiative
- Irina Sukhy, Chairwoman of the Green Network Council
13:00 EDT
Doing Business with China
Panelists will discuss corporate responsibility in the landscape of China’s global rise and corporate solutions for upholding human rights.
- Melissa Chen, Editor for Spectator and Managing Director of Ideas Beyond Borders
- Kyle Bass, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Hayman Capital Management, and founding member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China
- Christopher Balding, China expert and Oslo Freedom Forum speaker
- Jenny Wang, HRF Strategic Advisor
13:00 EDT
State-Sponsored Hacking: Russia, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea
This panel will explore how Russia, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea are using technology to consolidate their power and influence globally.
- Philippa Thomas, Journalist and BBC correspondent
- Andy Greenberg, Senior writer for WIRED
- Iyad el-Baghdadi, President of Kawaakibi Foundation
- Jieun Baek, Founder and Co-Director of Lumen
Workshops
13:00 EDT
Digital Hygiene for Human Rights Defenders
Session in Arabic, led by Sarah Aoun, human rights technologist; French support also available.
13:00 EDT
Digital Transformation During a Pandemic: Risks & Solutions
Workshop in Arabic, led by Mohammed Al-Maskati, human rights activist and digital security consultant with Front Line Defenders
13:00 EDT
How to Talk to Journalists
Workshop led by Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion columnist
13:00 EDT
How to Pitch an Op-Ed
Session led by Naina Bajekal, deputy international editor at TIME
13:30 EDT
How to Pitch an Op-Ed
Workshop led by Naina Bajekal, deputy international editor at TIME
14:00 EDT
How to Talk to Journalists
Workshop led by Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion columnist
14:00 EDT
Digital Transformation During a Pandemic: Risks & Solutions
Workshop in Arabic, led by Mohammed Al-Maskati, human rights activist and digital security consultant with Front Line Defenders
14:00 EDT
2020 on Twitter: Your Voice, Your Trust, and Safety
Training led by Twitter
Panel Discussions
14:30 EDT
The Repressive Nature of Cuba’s Medical Brigades
This panel will explore Cuba’s medical brigades and their use as propaganda to legitimize the regime.
- José Moya, Professor of History at Barnard College
- Maria Werlau, President of the Free Society Project
- Annarella O’Mahony, Cuban author and editor
- Vincent Geloso, Author and Assistant Professor at King’s University College
14:30 EDT
The Rise of Global Protests: Part I
Panelists will examine how authoritarian regimes exploit global crises for political aims and crack down on peaceful dissenters.
- Srdja Popović, Expert in nonviolent resistance and leader of the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS)
- Victoria Tin-bor Hui, Associate Professor at University of Notre Dame and Hong Kong democracy movement scholar
- Farida Nabourema, Togolese human rights activist, blogger, and founder of the Faure Must Go movement
- Rafaela Requesens, Venezuelan activist and anti-government student protest leader
14:30 EDT
Uncovering China’s Mass Internment Camps
Discussing Buzzfeed’s investigation exposing China’s new prison camps & the global response to this escalation of ethnic cleansing.
- Megha Rajagopalan, International correspondent at Buzzfeed
- Gulchehra Hoja, Uyghur journalist and Oslo Freedom Forum speaker
Workshops
15:00 EDT
Digital Hygiene for Human Rights Defenders
Workshop led by Sarah Aoun, human rights technologist; Matt Mitchell, hacker/risk analyst; and John Shaffer, digital security researcher
15:45 EDT
The One Trick Hackers Hate: A Conversation with JSR
Led by John Scott-Railton, Senior Researcher at Citizen Lab
Networking Sessions & Workshops
16:00 EDT
How to be a Guest on Live TV from Home or the Field
Led by Nick Spicer, International TV correspondent and presenter at Deutsche Welle, with guest Nazeeha Saeed, journalist and safety trainer
16:00 EDT
Impactful Video Storytelling: How Stories Change the World
Led by Joe Smith, award-winning producer-director at Patreon
16:00 EDT
OFF Community Mixer
Catching up with our community
16:00 EDT
All About Vietnam
Facts, figures, and how to make it freer and better
16:00 EDT
Bitcoin Development Fund: Q & A
Learn about HRF’s new fund to support open source financial software
16:15 EDT
Digital Hygiene for Human Rights Defenders
Led by Sarah Aoun, human rights technologist; Matt Mitchell, hacker/risk analyst; and John Shaffer, digital security researcher
September 25, 2020
Mainstage III (9:00 – 10:00 EDT)
Fatou Toufah Jallow
Gambian anti-rape activist and survivor
Lyudmila Savchuk
Russian investigative journalist
Nathan Law
Exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy activist
Bryan Fogel
Oscar-winning film director
Mainstage IV (10:20 – 11:25 EDT)
Jack Dorsey
Twitter and Square CEO
Eunhee Park
North Korean defector
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
Leader of the Belarusian democratic movement
Buika
Musical performance
Havel Prize Ceremony (11:25 – 11:50 EDT)
Garry Kasparov
Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation
Ramy Essam
Musical performance by the 2019 Havel Laureate
Panel Discussions
12:30 EDT
Protecting and Advancing LGBTQI Rights Globally
LGBTQI activists share their experiences, ranging from constitutional challenges and government crackdowns, to extrajudicial killings.
- Leyla Hussein, Somali anti-FGM activist and psychotherapist
- Julia Maciocha, Polish LGBTQI activist and Director of Warsaw Pride
- Asif Iqbal, Bangladeshi LGBTQI activist and writer
- Amir Ashour, Iraqi LGBTQI activist and executive director of IraQueer
13:00 EDT
The Rise of Global Protests: Part II
Panelists will discuss emerging and evolving threats facing democracies and democratic values, in light of newly-posed global challenges.
- Thor Halvorssen, President of the Human Rights Foundation
- Jamila Raqib, Executive Director of the Albert Einstein Institution
- Ayah Bdeir, Inventor and co-founder of Daleel Thawra, Directory of the Lebanese Revolution
- Se-Woong Koo, Founder of Korea Exposé
- Diana Riba, Member of the European Parliament, and pro-Catalonia independence activist
13:00 EDT
Uyghur Forced Labor and the Global Fashion Supply Chain
This panel will address the forced labor of Uyghurs in the global fashion supply chain and offer a variety of perspectives on the issue.
- Tu Rinsche, Vice President of Strategic Engagement & Partnerships of Transparentem
- Rushan Abbas, Founder and Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghurs
- Johnson Yeung, Campaigner & Urgent Appeal Coordinator at Clean Clothes Campaign
- Amy Lehr, Director of the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Cecilie Hellestveit, Lawyer, political scientist, and member of the Council on Ethics for the Norwegian Petroleum Fund
13:00 EDT
Data Collection & Censorship in the Coronavirus Outbreak
Discussing the Chinese government's response to the coronavirus, and Xi Jinping's authoritarian approach to public crises.
- Paul Mozur, Technology Correspondent for The New York Times
- Sophia Yan, China Correspondent for The Telegraph
Workshops
13:00 EDT
Digital Hygiene for Human Rights Defenders
Session in Arabic, led by Sarah Aoun, human rights technologist; French support also available.
13:00 EDT
How to Pitch an Op-Ed
Workshop led by Naina Bajekal, deputy international editor at TIME
13:00 EDT
How to Talk to Journalists
Workshop led by Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion columnist
13:00 EDT
How to be a Guest on Live TV from Home or the Field
Workshop led by Nick Spicer, International TV correspondent and presenter at Deutsche Welle, with guest Thomas Amter, producer and reporter
13:00 EDT
Digital Transformation During a Pandemic: Risks & Solutions
Workshop in Arabic, led by Mohammed Al-Maskati, human rights activist and digital security consultant with Front Line Defenders
14:00 EDT
2020 on Twitter: Your Voice, Your Trust, and Safety
Training led by Twitter
14:00 EDT
How to Talk to Journalists
Workshop led by Bobby Ghosh, Bloomberg Opinion columnist
14:00 EDT
Digital Transformation During a Pandemic: Risks & Solutions
Workshop in Arabic, led by Mohammed Al-Maskati, human rights activist and digital security consultant with Front Line Defenders
Panel Discussions
14:30 EDT
The Telegram Revolution in Belarus
This panel will address the rise of bloggers, digital protest organizing, and the role of social media in the Belarusian democracy movement.
- Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian, and journalist
- Franak Viacorka, Belarusian democracy activist and journalist
- Hanna Liubakova, Journalist
- Aliaksandr Herasimenka, Researcher at the University of Oxford
14:30 EDT
The Politics of Saudi Arabia's Sportswashing and Entertainment PR Campaigns
Ahmed Gatnash, host of The Arab Tyrant Manual podcast, will discuss with activists and journalists Saudi sports and entertainment-washing.
- Ahmed Gatnash, Host of The Arab Tyrant Manual Podcast
- Garry Kasparov, HRF Chairman
- Areej al-Sadhan, Saudi activist
- Karim Zidan, Investigative journalist
Workshops
14:30 EDT
Digital Hygiene for Human Rights Defenders
Workshop led by Sarah Aoun, human rights technologist; Matt Mitchell, hacker/risk analyst; and John Shaffer, digital security researcher
15:00 EDT
Impactful Video Storytelling: How Stories Change the World
Led by Joe Smith, award-winning producer-director at Patreon
15:30 EDT
The One Trick Hackers Hate: A Conversation with JSR
Led by John Scott-Railton, Senior Researcher at Citizen Lab
Networking Sessions & Workshops
16:00 EDT
SHEroes: Women in Activism
Exploring the challenges that women activists uniquely face, and what the supporting ecosystem for these activists looks like.
16:00 EDT
Digital Hygiene for Human Rights Defenders
Workshop led by Sarah Aoun, human rights technologist; Matt Mitchell, hacker/risk analyst; and John Shaffer, digital security researcher
16:00 EDT
All About Vietnam
Facts, figures, and how to make it freer and better
17:00 EDT
Challenges During Transition to Democracy
Challenges in Sudan's transition to democracy as told by Sudanese people themselves
17:30 EDT
London Pub Unwind
Please join us as we virtually gather to celebrate the culmination of another inspiring year
Our Sponsors
The Oslo Freedom Forum is a global gathering of activists united in standing up to tyranny.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. What differentiates HRF from other human rights organizations is our singular focus on authoritarian regimes.
HRF created the Oslo Freedom Forum to bring the fight for freedom to the forefront of the global agenda. Each year, the event showcases the testimonies of individuals who have risked their lives for freedom. With a focus on civil and political rights, this annual gathering exemplifies the resilience and nobility of the human spirit.