Daniel Gorman.
and the international secretariat, PEN International, of which Daniel says: “I tend to think of them as the hub and us centres as the spokes on the wheel – we all work independently but to the shared aims of the PEN Charter (
www.englishpen.org/the-pen- charter) which guides all our work.” That Charter is underpinned by four key components, including: “PEN stands for the principle of unhampered trans- mission of thought within each nation and between all nations, and members pledge themselves to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression in the country and community to which they belong, as well as throughout the world wherever this is possible.”
English PEN was founded by writer Catherine Amy Dawson Scott in 1921, and one of its earliest aims was to foster international connections between writers. Daniel points out that there is perhaps more need than ever to have a global outlook as it supports individuals. “While the context and place within which writers work has an impact on their ability to express themselves freely,” says Daniel, “I think it’s fair to say that we are currently in a crisis of human rights glob- ally and, along with that, we are witnessing a crisis of freedom of expression. This is experienced differently depending on the places and the individuals and communi- ties who are affected, so we tend to work on two different but related avenues of support – individual support and broader campaigns to support freedom of expres- sion. Individual support can help individual writers to be able to continue their work, whilst our campaigns tend to focus on the legislative, or specific emblematic cases. “The common theme is that freedom of expression is a vital right, and one for
March 2024
which we must continue to campaign.” Those rights can be even harder to protect during times of conflict, and so it is no surprise that English PEN is taking action at home and abroad. Daniel says: “The level of conflict on a global scale right now is heartbreaking and trauma- tising. English PEN has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in current conflicts. We are working closely with partners, in particu- lar in Ukraine and Gaza, with the aim of supporting writers and journalists and doing everything we can to bring these conflicts to an end.
“We will also continue to urge the UK government to take measures to protect the lives and human rights of journalists, writers, and those affected by conflict.” And while these international conflicts continue to dominate headlines, there is also work closer to home. Even in peacetime democracies there are occasions
where freedom of expression is threat- ened – whether that is through legislation, intimidation, or intolerance.
For an organisation like English PEN, it is important to retain a level of impar- tiality – especially in a time where there appears to be growing intolerance of different viewpoints and opinions. Daniel says that English PEN looks carefully at how it supports writers and seeks to protect wider freedoms, saying: “One of the ways in which we select our campaigns tends to be a focus on the legislative – looking at current and pro- posed legislation which will negatively impact on the freedom of expression affecting all those in the UK. “Here, in the UK, and around the world, intolerance, division, and threats to freedom of expression are on the rise, so along with the legislative side of things our work focuses on cohesion,
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 31
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