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Dateline: 26th August, 2007
Freedom of Expression Awards Nominations Amnesty International and the Big Issue in Scotland have announced the shortlist for the Freedom of Expression Award, which rewards a company whose performance at the Edinburgh Festivals makes a significant contribution to public awareness and understanding of human rights issues. The five shortlisted shows were:
All Fringe productions which address human rights themes were eligible to nominate themselves for the Award, and judges chose from a list of 32 productions accepted as promoting human rights themes. The winner, nnounced at a special ceremony on Thursday 23rd August, is The Container . Amnesty International’s Programme Director in Scotland John Watson, said, “The Festivals are all about freedom of expression – whether it’s in a play, a film, a book or a joke - and this is what makes Edinburgh such an apt place for Amnesty to tell people about our work to protect free speech around the world. “We hope that this Award will help encourage companies to tackle human rights issues in their work.” Clare Harris, Editor of the Big Issue in Scotland, said, “The Big Issue has been reporting on the festivals for many years and it’s really exciting to be involved for the first time this year with Amnesty International." “We’ve been overwhelmed by the response and by the sheer number of shows that we’ve seen over the last two weeks, shows which really bring home human rights and the importance of raising human rights issues.” Amnesty is asking people to take action for human rights while they’re enjoying the Festival this year using the Internet and text messaging, including a campaign for Shi Tao, a Chinese journalist imprisoned for ten years just for sending an email. Amnesty is asking people to demand his freedom at www.amnesty.org.uk/scotland or text the word 'FREEDOM', plus their name and email address to 64118 to join the ever-growing petition.
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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