Uyghur PEN Board Members
Uyghur PEN Centre
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Writers for Peace
The Writers for Peace Committee was created in 1984, an era during which writers found it especially difficult to collaborate across the East–West divide of the Cold War. The committee’s founding members recognised the need to bring writers together to exchange ideas, especially when most other doors were closed. It became a haven throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s (during the Balkan wars and other political conflicts) for writers who wished to tell their stories with the knowledge that their voices would be heard. Every spring the committee meets in Bled, Slovenia, for its annual conference. PEN writers from around the world come together there to discuss issues of conflict, peace and freedom of expression, and to create a space for dialogue between writers from all parts of the world – especially from regions in conflict. The 2018 meeting is the 50th in Bled (though the commmitee was only formally formed 34 years ago) and the initial reasons for establishing it remain all too relevant. The current President of the Writers For Peace Committee is Emmanuel Pierrat and is based at the French PEN Centre. You can contact him at emmanuel.pierrat@pierratavocats.com. The Vice-Presidents are Simon Mundy, Frank Miksa, Veera Tyhtila and Tienchi Liao-Martin.PEN International
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Translation & Linguistic Rights
Founded in Stockholm in 1978, the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee believes that all languages and literatures have the right to be written, read and heard, whether spoken by millions of people across the world or by just a few. Through projects, events, publishing and campaigning, this committee encourages readers and writers to explore writing from cultures other than their own. It holds a conference every spring in Barcelona, which gives members of the PEN community the opportunity to share stories and exchange ideas with the goal of continuing to ensure that translation and linguistic rights are always at the heart of PEN International and its work. In 1996 the committee played a leading in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, which was eventually adopted by UNESCO. In 2011 the committee drafted the Girona Manifesto for Linguistic Rights, which encapsulates the goals of the Universal Declaration, and summarises the aims of the committee in PEN International’s work to strengthen linguistic rights and translation worldwide. In 2011 the Girona Manifesto for Linguistic Rights was passed by the General Assembly at the 77th PEN International Annual Congress. The current Chair is Simona Škrabec who is a member of Catalan PEN. PEN International
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Kurash Sultan
From his exile in Sweden the Uyghur composer, musician and poet Kurash Sultan was like an ambassador to the Uyghurs – the indigenous people in East Turkistan in north-western China. He died 47 years old from a heart stroke on 29 October 2006. – by Freemuse Uyghur composer died in exile Kurash Sultan Kurash Sultan was invited to speak at the 3rd Freemuse World Conference in Istanbul on 25 November 2006. He was a famous Uyghur artist who sang and wrote countless songs and poems on the freedom of his homeland, East Turkistan, where the Uyghurs are struggling to keep their language and their culture. For that same reason he has been imprisoned and tortured by the authorities, many of his songs were banned in East Turkistan, and he had to escape the country. He was buried in Sweden on 1 November 2006. Kurash Sultan (also known as Kuresh Kusen, Kurash Kusan or Koresh Kosen) was born in 1959 in the capital city Urumchi of Xinjiang – a region which Uyghurs often refer to as East Turkistan. “Xinjiang” means “New Frontier” and is the Han Chinese name for the autonomous region. In the 1980’s Kurash Sultan worked as a music teacher, and studied music conducting. In 1992-1995 he worked an editor of Xinjiang Art, a magazine published by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’s Writers Union. In 1987, he worked on getting a music ensemble together, and in the next five years they presented their music show more than 1,000 times all around East Turkistan / Xinjiang. More than five million people attended it. Kurash Sultan was awarded 11 times, prizes which he received from all around China and East Turkistan / Xinjiang. His cassette tape ‘Hesret’ (“Affliction”) and ‘Échinish’ (“Sorrow”) was the most sold cassette in the market. In 1993 […]
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The Uyghur PEN Centre
The Uyghur PEN Centre stands for the rights of the Uyghur people, for their freedom of expression and freedom of write! About Uyghur PEN and PEN InternationalEstablishment of Uyghur PEN Centre and current leadership About the Uyghur PEN Centre Online Revitalisation ProjectWho are the Uyghurs and What’s happening Now? About The Uyghur PEN Centre and PEN International The Uyghur PEN Center is one of 145 International PEN centers across the globe dedicated to promoting freedom of expression, thought and information for all. It stands in solidarity with writers everywhere who have been forced into silence by censorship. It stands for the rights of the Uyghur people, for their freedom of expression and freedom of write. It also campaigns for the release of imprisoned writers, for free media, for the right to one’s mother tongue, and for other rights related to freedom of expression. Uyghur PEN’s focus of expertise is on Uyghurs (Uyghur Autonomous Region, China) and Central Asia. As a chapter of International PEN, Uyghur PEN sees the right to express ourselves as essential to a free and just world. It recognises that literature is essential for understanding and engaging with people around the world, and it also promotes freedom of expression. PEN International’s history dates back to 1921. As a writers’ association, its membership is open to all published writers who subscribe to the organization’s charter, regardless of nationality, race, mother tongue or religion. It is a non-political and non-religious nonprofit organisation and has special consultative status at the UN and UNESCO. Like PEN International, Uyghur PEN’s membership is open to all writers. Its members, mostly Uyghurs, bring a wide spectrum of experience and work in fields ranging from academia and media to film production, translation and literature. Uyghur PEN is based in London, UK, but its board and […]