The award was presented during the '3rd IMC World Forum on Music' which is currently taking place in Tunisia. It was presented to Freemuse by IMC President Dr. Richard Letts. In his speech, Dr. Letts praised the "unique programme" of Freemuse and said that "defence of the right to freedom of expression in music is the first of the five musical rights at the base of IMC activities."
The International Music Council (IMC) is a global network of expert organisations and individuals working in the field of music. Founded in 1949 by UNESCO, the International Music Council is mandated to promote musical diversity and support cultural rights for all.
Freemuse has existed for 10 years and the IMC Award is the second international award presented to the organisation, which in 2003 received the Womex Award.
"This is a wonderful recognition of Freemuse," says Marie Korpe, Executive Director of Freemuse.
"Whereas it is a well known fact that media and literature is censored and journalists are persecuted in several countries, it is less acknowledged how widespread censorship of music and musicians is in many countries today."
The IMC Award motivation
“This unique programme [of Freemuse] advocates freedom of expression for creators and performers of music. It documents and often publicises incidents of censorship and oppression, some of which may see musicians gaoled or even killed. It acts in a variety of ways to support musicians who experience limitations in their freedom to express themselves, in some cases by lobbying offending governments directly. It collaborates with other organisations working to implement the principles outlined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, and with researchers and journalists to focus on issues of music censorship. Hence, the programme goes to the roots of the five musical rights defined by IMC.”
Read more
International Music Council's official home page:
imc-cim.org
|
|
Click on photo to see the award certificate
Press release
På dansk
This page in Danish language
|
