Human rights forum in Oslo
Rarely have so many prominent participants been gathered to discuss human rights. The Oslo Freedom Forum aims at establishing a conference for human rights that can be as important as Davos is for economical challenges.
“We have deliberately chosen to hold the conference in Oslo. Both the Norwegian authorities and the public are highly aware of human rights issues and we want to further fuel this awareness with knowledge and make Oslo Freedom Forum a global event,” says Mr. Halvorssen.
The world’s leading human rights activists are coming to Oslo the 18th of May. “This will be a “Davos” for the world’s most important social problem,” says Thor Halvorssen, initiator of The Oslo Freedom Forum.
Rarely have so many prominent participants been gathered to discuss human rights. The Oslo Freedom Forum aims at establishing a conference for human rights that can be as important as Davos is for economical challenges. “We have deliberately chosen to hold the conference in Oslo. Both the Norwegian authorities and the public are highly aware of human rights issues and we want to further fuel this awareness with knowledge and make Oslo Freedom Forum a global event,” says Mr. Halvorssen.
The participant list counts close to 200 prominent people; among them human rights activists, former heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, known former prisoners of conscience and Norwegian and international politicians and businessmen. Several of the participants have themselves been jailed and tortured for their views. “That these people share their experiences with us is extremely important for all those who on a daily basis are denied the most basic human rights as individuals. Our objective is to highlight all the suffering going on world wide and put pressure on the governments that violate the basic human rights of its citizens,” says the initiator.
Attendees to the Oslo Freedom Forum between the 18th and 20th of May are amongst others:
The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, patron of the Oslo Freedom Forum Peter Berkowitz, Vladimir Bukovsky, Emil Constantinescu, Jack Healey, David Satter, Paleden Gyatso, Park Sang-Hak, Armando Valladares, Harry Wu, Leyla Zana, Bruce Bawer, Thor Halvorssen, Greg Mortenson, Nina Witoszek, Kristin Clemet, Fabian Stang, Kjell Magne Bondevik, Åsne Seierstad and Jan Erik Helgessen
For further information about the conference, go to www.oslofreedomforum.org
