A QUASI-MANIFEST FOR PEN INTERNATIONAL ON FACEBOOK

In the moment the Facebook page PEN International on Facebook has reached its 400th member, I think it is opportune to publish again on this blog the quasi-manifest which it is founded upon.

A QUASI-MANIFEST FOR PEN INTERNATIONAL ON FACEBOOK

Dear Friends,

this Group has been opened – to say founded would sound a bit bombastic – three months ago. I confess that at that moment I had no idea that it would have been so successful, because to have 104 members is a goal I did not think could be reached in so small a time.

In view of this (little) success I feel it could be opportune to try to define what we are, what we are doing (or trying to do) and why.

This is not a manifest, which I don’t have neither the authority nor the wish to write: anyone of you is absolutely free to comment and to disagree, and your comments will help us to decide whether we have taken the right path or if we have to adjust the course.

The Group is an open one, dedicated to PEN members but not exclusive. One of the reasons of this document is to give to people asking to become members of the Group a clear idea of what kind of contents we are interested into and avoid to become a mess of passers-by.

There is no limitation to the contents, but these are supposed to be related to our quality of PEN members: literary topics and issues about translations or linguistic rights, as well as about freedom of expression – including the safeguard of writers -, keeping and promotion of peace. We know what’s it all about.

In my opinion we should also try to inform and keep informed about the initiatives of our respective PEN Centres, to signal the works of our colleagues which are already translated to other languages (and those we deserve to be), to maintain communication channels open between PEN Centres of different parts of the world.

This activity, at that degree of detail, is not in contrast with the activity developed by the PEN International website, which has  to achieve many more institutional goals. Our role has to be one of support, in all the small areas this website cannot cover. It could be a role of incitement too, why not?

In order to do so, we should try to attract – I would say to lure, because many of our colleagues don’t like Facebook, worse, they don’t trust it – into this social network as many members of PEN as possible. Not because it is a heaven, only for the practical reason that it’s the most widespread one, and it allows more space for discussion than e.g. Twitter.

People fear a loss of personal data, a breach in privacy. Apart from the fact that nobody can steal data you do not put online, in my opinion there is no opportunity without a certain degree of risk, and vice versa. I personally have considered the possibility to vastly improve my communication a game worth the candle.

Anyway, we should try to find out as many PEN members as possible that are already more or less active on Facebook and ask them to join our Group. You all are well aware that a number of the present 104 members are leading members or Officers in their respective Centre: some are even Officers of PEN International. However, this Group is designed to accept any member and also non-members that are genuinely interested in our activity.

Writers are busy people, so it’s physiological that they at best have a look at the page and don’t interact: even so, our page is very lively.

It would be fantastic if in average everyone of us would visit the page once a week, possibly leaving a short message or at least utilizing the “Like” button, if he/she actually likes some post.

May I recall that not only English, but also French and Spanish are official languages of PEN?

But in the very end we have to ask ourselves non only what we can do in order to further our communication, and how to do it.

The real question is: why are we trying to build a sort of virtual Speaker’s Corner in a Facebook’s Hyde Park, where everybody can climb on a wooden box and start communicating to everybody else in transit his/her ideas and debate with them?

In my opinion this kind of exercise is vital if we want PEN to become a so-called flat organisation.

An international body with 145 Centres in 104 countries is too big to rely on two-way communication protocols like ordinary or electronic post. In the world of today we need easier and user-friendly forms of expression and it would be a mistake not to utilize the existent ones.

We have to debate openly if we agree with the present form of organization or if we would prefer some other organizational model, if we think this organization is apt to represent the Centres, the members, the geographical and linguistic areas and their interests, if the full membership can be granted to readers and to young people and in which form.

In the Congress of Tokyo there has been an attempt to free discussion that has to be further implemented.

Maybe democracy is too big a word for it, but I think you know what I mean. The same fact that you have decreed a certain success to this Group is a good proof for that.

Thanks to you all for your attention and for your cooperation.

January 26, 2011

HIGHLIGHTS FROM BLED 2013

Apart from the traditional 45^th International Writers Meeting, this year the International Board choose to have his face-to-face Meeting in Bled. 

I can’t recall if in 1965 – when Bled hosted the International Congress – there was such a meeting here, but in any case a lot of time did pass by and this could be considered an important acknowledgment of the importance PEN International gives to the Bled Meeting.

The Board members and the Chairpersons of the 5 Committees met on Tuesday 7^th for dinner and had a meeting on Wednesday 8^th, with a short prolongation on Thursday, discussing a full agenda.

I apologize if this year I will be less punctual in this short report of mine, but being a Board member means that one has many things to think about at the same time... :0)

The International Writers Meeting – there were about 36 PEN Centres or Countries represented  - started on the evening of Wednesday with a presentation of the literature of the Zasavje region of Slovenia, the President of Slovene PEN Marjan Strojan is native to. He was accompanied by two other authors, Roman Rozina and Uroš Zupan. 

At night we were received at the Brdo Castle by the Minister of Culture of Slovenia, dr. Uroš Grilc.

On Thursday the Meeting opened with a Round Table about “Literary creation, from the periphery to the centre”, moderated by Teresa Salema.

This was followed by a Panel Discussion about “The role of PEN today and in the future”, presented by Tone Peršak of Slovene PEN and moderated by the International President John Ralston Saul and the International Secretary Takeaki Hori.

Both events were followed with interest and there were many interventions.

The day closed with a series of literary readings in different places near Bled.

On Friday there was a second Round Table, moderated by Edvard Kovač, Chairman of the Writers for Peace Committee, about “The writer as a traveller creating peace facing the challenges of the new media”. 

In the afternoon this Round Table was followed by a Workshop – moderated by two members of the staff of the PEN International Office, Sarah Clarke and Paul Finegan – about “Digital Freedom, Peace and Conficts and the PEN’s Declaration on Digital Freedom “ adopted in Gyeongju in 2012.  

The Centres are kindly invited to translate this Declaration into their own language (or languages) and to send it to the International Office in London.

Also these two events aroused the interest of participants and consequently there were many hands raised.

Apart from the specific matters dealt of in these discussion, one of the most debated issues among Delegates, Board and the Icelandic Delegate Sigurdur Pálsson was the logistics of the Reykjavik Congress.

In the evening a literary event took place in Radovljica, dedicated to the Slovene version of a novel of Margriet de Moor.

On Saturday morning there were two sessions: the General Assembly of the Writers for Peace Committee, chaired by Edvard Kovač and co-chaired by Teresa Salema, and a Meeting of the Women Writers Committee about “Who is Who? or Networking of Female Writers”, chaired by Ekbal Baraka and moderated by Barbara Simoniti.

Personally I attended the WfPC session, which was quite crowded and animated, having to deal with activity reports, updating about delicate situations, the final version of the Manifesto of the Writers for Peace Committee drafted in Gyeongju, the organization of the Lisbona conference to be held at the end of June and other business. A project to create a new Mediterranean Network was discussed and will be taken into consideration again during the Lisbona meeting.

This year Edi Kovač will leave the Chairmanship of the WfPC and in Reykjavik the Committee will have a General Assembly electing the new Chairperson, with the same procedure as the other PEN Committees. Tone Peršak of Slovene PEN is candidate to take over from Edi Kovač.

My wife Lina Morselli, Treasurer of Trieste PEN, attended the WWC meeting and was very interested by it, the Committee having started to function regularly and having concrete projects for the immediate future.

The “historical” picture I attach to this post shows the International President and Secretary sitting on the floor with the Chairpersons of the PEN Committees, marking the close cooperation that has to be maintained and fostered among and between the Committees and the Board.

I would like to specially thank the Mayor of Bled Mr. Janez Fajfar for the courtesy and pleasantness he is always using towards all the Delegates in his town.

After a theatre play in Kranj of John Patrick Shanley we all convened to a farewell dinner.

Next year we will meet again in Bled.

Dichiarazione del PEN sulla Libertà Digitale

Il PEN International promuove la letteratura e la libertà di espressione ed è retto dalla Carta del PEN e dai principi in essa contenuti – la trasmissione senza ostacolo alcuno del pensiero all’interno di ogni nazione e tra tutte le nazioni.

Il PEN riconosce la promessa che i media digitali costituiscono come mezzo di realizzazione del diritto fondamentale della libera espressione. Allo stesso tempo, poeti, commediografi, saggisti, romanzieri, scrittori, bloggers e giornalisti soffrono violazioni del loro diritto di libertà di espressione nell’ uso dei media digitali. Cittadini di vari paesi hanno dovuto affrontare gravi restrizioni nell’accesso ai media digitali e nel loro utilizzo, mentre i governi hanno sfruttato le tecnologie digitali per sopprimere la libertà di espressione e per sorvegliare le persone. Il settore privato ed in particolare le imprese del settore tecnologico hanno a volte facilitato la censura e la sorveglianza dei governi. Pertanto il PEN dichiara quanto segue:

1. Tutte le persone hanno il diritto di esprimersi liberamente attraverso i media digitali senza temere di subire rappresaglie o persecuzioni.

a. Tutti gli utenti dei media digitali godono della protezione della loro piena libertà di espressione concessa dalle leggi e dalle norme internazionali.

b. I governi non devono perseguire o sottoporre a rappresaglie le persone che trasmettono informazioni, opinioni o idee tramite i media digitali.

c. I governi devono proteggere attivamente la libertà di espressione tramite i media digitali, introducendo e applicando leggi e norme funzionanti.

2. Tutte le persone hanno il diritto di cercare e ricevere informazioni tramite i media digitali.

a. I governi non devono censurare, limitare o controllare i contenuti dei media digitali, inclusi i contenuti derivanti da fonti nazionali ed internazionali.

b. In circostanze eccezionali, ogni limitazione ai contenuti dei media digitali deve essere conforme alle leggi e norme internazionali che regolano i limiti della libertà di espressione, come l’incitamento alla violenza.

c. I governi non devono bloccare l’accesso ai media digitali né restringerne l’uso, anche durante periodi di agitazioni o crisi. Il controllo dell’accesso ai media digitali, specialmente se su larga scala, viola di per sé il diritto alla libertà di espressione.

d. I governi devono favorire e promuovere il pieno accesso di tutte le persone ai media digitali.

3. Tutte le persone hanno il diritto di essere libere da ogni sorveglianza governativa sui media digitali.

a. La sorveglianza in sé, conscio o no che ne sia chi ne è specifico obiettivo, impedisce ogni spontaneità di discorso creando le condizioni di una persecuzione e la paura di rappresaglie. Se nota, la sorveglianza favorisce un clima di autocensura che lede ulteriormente la libera espressione.

b. Come regola generale, i governi non devono cercare di accedere alle comunicazioni digitali tra due o più persone private, né devono monitorare l’uso individuale dei media digitali, né seguire i movimenti delle persone tramite i media digitali, né alterare il loro modo di esprimersi, né in generale sorvegliare le persone.

c. Quando i governi esercitino una sorveglianza – in circostanze eccezionali ed in connessione con la legittima applicazione della legge o con investigazioni riguardanti la sicurezza nazionale – ogni sorveglianza di persone o monitoraggio di comunicazioni tramite i  media digitali deve essere conforme alle leggi ed alle norme del diritto  processuale internazionale in caso di ricerche legittime, ad esempio tramite l’ottenimento di un mandato da parte della magistratura.

d. La piena libertà di espressione implica un diritto alla privacy; tutte le esistenti leggi e norme internazionali  in materia di privacy si applicano ai media digitali, e nuove leggi, norme e protezioni possono essere necessarie.

e. La raccolta e la detenzione di dati e di altre informazioni generate dai media digitali da parte di un governo, inclusa la estrazione di dati, deve essere conforme  alle leggi e norme internazionali in materia di privacy, così come la detenzione di dati deve essere limitata nel tempo, proporzionata alle necessità ed effettivamente comunicata alle persone interessate.

4. Il settore privato, e le imprese del settore tecnologico in particolare, sono vincolati dal diritto di libertà di espressione e dai diritti umani.

a. I principi espressi in questa dichiarazione si applicano in ugual misura al settore privato.

b. Le imprese devono rispettare i diritti umani, incluso il diritto alla libertà di espressione, e devono difendere tali diritti anche quando  le leggi e regolamenti nazionali non li proteggano.

c. Le imprese del settore tecnologico hanno il dovere di determinare come i loro prodotti, servizi e politiche impattino sui diritti umani nei paesi in cui intendono operare. Qualora esista la possibilità di violazioni, o tali violazioni possano essere inestricabilmente connesse all’uso di prodotti o servizi, le imprese dovrebbero modificare o ritirare i piani previsti al fine di rispettare i diritti umani.

d. Le imprese del settore tecnologico dovrebbero incorporare la libertà di espressione nelle loro operazioni principali, ad esempio disegnando prodotti con protezioni della privacy già incorporate.

e. Se si dovesse scoprire che le loro operazioni hanno violato il diritto alla libertà di espressione, le imprese del settore tecnologico dovrebbero risarcire le persone i cui diritti fossero stati violati, anche laddove i governi non offrano soluzioni.

Adottata dal Congresso del PEN International

Gyeongju, Corea del Sud

Settembre 2012

© Traduzione in italiano di Antonio Della Rocca

Presidente del PEN Trieste

PUBBLICAZIONE BULGARA IN ONORE DEL SOCIO PROF. IVAN BUJUKLIEV

Volume pubblicato a Sofia, nel 2012, per i 75 anni del nostro Socio prof. Ivan Bujukliev, con contributi di studiosi italiani (Ferraccioli, Giraudo, Piccat, Benussi, Dell'Agata, Londero) oltre che di studiosi bulgari.


Ad multos annos, Ivan !

3° INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF LITERATURE IN ORDU (TURKEY)

A short (personal) report about my trip to Turkey.

The Municipality of Ordu – a nice city on the Black Sea – did invite a number of foreign guests to this event taking place from 10 to 14 October 2012.

Through Tarik Günersel, President of the Turkish PEN, Gil-Won Lee, President of PEN Korea and myself as President of PEN Trieste – also in our quality of members of the Board of PEN International - were among these guests, along with the Mayors of Drama (GR) and Plovdvid Severen (BG), Nancy Tryposkoufi and Eleftheria Binikou of the International Writers and Translators Centre of Rhodes (GR), the writer Thnasis Skroubelos and the publisher Şebnem Hristakopoulos from Greece, the poet Carolina Ilica and the publisher Dumitru M. Ion from Romania, the writer and poet Bojana Apostolova and the poet Naci Ferhadov from Bulgaria.

For me it was my first time in Turkey and - even if I still have to visit Istanbul sometimes - I doubt I could have chose a better occasion to meet Turkish writers and poets and at the same time having an experience of the Turkish way of life. My personal limit in this has been my complete ignorance of the Turkish language.
Any experience is too short – and a five days one certainly is – to say that you really understood something of a country, of its habitants and of its culture, but I feel richer after this one.

The theme of the Festival was “Cultural ties among cities” – a piece of cake for someone born in Trieste like me :o)

We were welcomed by the Mayor of Ordu, Mr. Seyit Torun, the Governor of the Province of Ordu Mr. Orhan Düzgün and the Festival’s Director General Mr. Şinasi Tepe.

The event was articulated on different interesting venues, mainly Cultural Centres and Theatres, with panels (Cultural interaction among cities, The world of short stories and novels, Poetry in our contemporary times, History of Ordu, Novel heroes inside our lives), presentations and readings.

There were also visits to schools of all grades – with an impressive, attentive participation of students of different ages – including musical exhibitions, a theatre performance, many visits and conversations in the newly refreshed Ordu Centre for World Writers.

The local TV interviewed Tarik, Gil-Won, Nancy, Eleftheria and myself together.

We were treated to many good restaurants, so we could appreciate Turkish food and hospitality.
All in all, the impression I had is that of a complex cultural environment, which expresses itself through the words of the Turkish writers and poets, the Administration having a proactive attention to culture. Freedom of expression is considered in this milieu a value, even if in the country there are the known difficulties.

A couple of very personal notes.

I was really (happily) astonished by the Mayor leading a procession of participants through the city centre, with the City Band and a banner of the Festival ahead of him, while all of us were distributing red carnations to the people around us :o). I’m still wondering if some of our Mayors would show this degree of involvement (frankly speaking, I doubt it).

The second funny experience I had at the end of a visit to a secondary school, when I was (joyfully) assaulted by a bunch of girls and boys asking me for my signature... on the palm of their hands :o)
At the end of this report, I would like to express my thanks to all the organizers of this interesting event, which was quite complicated to manage, and for their kind attention to our well-being.

A special thank you I owe to Mesut Senol with whom I had the first contact (and the last one, because he woke up at I prefer not to know which hour in the morning to make sure we were on a VERY early car to the airport and wish us a good trip home...)

A very hearty hug to all the volunteers – female and male - who took good care of us throughout the Festival, and thanks also to the translators, who had (as always) a hard job to do (not always recognized).

It’s good to know that after only five days you can think of having so many friends in Turkey.

Artecultura di Trieste

Nel numero di settembre della rivista Artecultura di Trieste un trafiletto sulla nomina di Antonio Della Rocca nel Board del PEN International.

La Stampa web

Il quotidiano La Stampa di Torino ha pubblicato giorni fa sul suo sito Web la notizia della nomina di uno scrittore italiano del PEN Trieste a livello internazionale durante il 78° Congresso del PEN International in Corea. Altri giornali non hanno ritenuto di farlo.