List of Oslo Freedom Forum participants

The following is a list of persons who have attended the Oslo Freedom Forum. The list is categorized first by country of origin, then by profession and year.

Afghanistan

• Sima Samar (Chairperson of the AIHRC)(2010)
• H.E. Manizha Bakhtari (Afghan Ambassador to Norway) (2010)
• Roya Mahboob (Afghan tech entrepreneur and founder of Citadel Software) (2016)

Argentina

• Uki Goñi (Argentinian journalist)(2011)
• Victoria Villarruel (Argentinian lawyer)(2011)

Australia

• Julian Assange (Wikileaks Founder) (2010)

Austria

• Michael Fleischhacker (editor, Austria’s Die Presse)(2011)

Azerbaijani

• Emin Milli (writer and activist) (2016)

Bahrain

• Maryam al-Khawaja (Bahraini rights activist) (2011)

Bangladesh

• Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury (publisher, writer, and editor from Bangladesh )(2017)

Belarus

• Zhanna Litvina (Belarusian journalist)(2011)
• Aliaksandr Bialiatski (Belarusian democracy activist and opposition leader) (2009)

Belgium

• Andrew Stroehlein (communications director, International Crisis Group)(2011)

Brazil

• Fernão Lara Mesquita (Brazilian journalist)(2011)

Britain

• Justine Hardy (British journalist and mental health expert)(2011)
• Nick Cohen (British journalist and author)(2012)
• Sarah, Duchess of York(2009)
• Benedict Rogers (author and East Asia team leader, Christian Solidarity Worldwide)(2011)
• Sara Bronfman (Libyan Human Rights Activist) (2009)
• Philippa Thomas (BBC anchor) (2011)
• Shiraz Maher (Expert on Islamic extremism) (2015)
• Saad Mohseni (British-born chairman and chief executive of MOBY GROUP) (2015)
• Chris Turner (award-winning stand-up comedian) (2017)

Bolivia

• Victor Hugo Cardenas (former vice-president of Bolivia)(2009)

Burma

• Zoya Phan (Burmese activist) (2011)

Burundi

• Gilbert Tuhabonye (Burundian genocide survivor, author, and athlete) (2010)
• Pierre Claver Mbonimpa (Burundian prison reformer) (2010)

Cambodia

• Sophal Ear (scholar of the Cambodian genocide)(2010)
• Somaly Mam (Cambodian author and human rights activist) (2012)

Canada

• Irwin Cotler (former Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney General)(2012)

Chad

• Jacqueline Moudeina (head of the Chadian Human Rights Commission)(2009)

Chechnya

• Lidia Yusupova (Chechen lawyer)(2010)
• Akhmed Zakayev (prime minister in exile, Chechnya)(2011)

Chile

• Andés Velasco (Chilean economist and former finance minister) (2015)

China

• Jung Chang (author, Wild Swans)(2009)
• Rebiya Kadeer (President, World Uyghur Congress) (2010)
• Yang Jianli (Chinese dissident) (2011)
• Harry Wu (Chinese dissident) (2009)
• Wan Yanhai (Chinese HIV/AIDS activist) (2011)
• Hui Siu Fun (producer, Hong Kong’s Pearl and Jade TV) (2011)
• Grace Gao (daughter of Gao Zhisheng, dissident Chinese human rights lawyer) (2017)

Colombia

• Victor Diusaba (online director, Colombia’s El Semana) (2011)
• Belisario Betancur (former president of Colombia)(2011)
• Clara Rojas (Colombian politician, formerly kidnapped by the FARC)(2010)

Cuba

• Yoani Sanchez (Cuban blogger) (via video)(2010)
• Armando Valladares (former Cuban political prisoner)(2010)
• Guillermo Fariñas Hernández (Cuban psychologist, journalist, and political dissident)(2017)
• María Payá Acevedo (Political dissident) (2016)

Czech Republic

• Václav Havel (former Czech President) (via video)(2009)

Denmark

• Jacob Mchangama (Danish scholar)(2011)
• Torstein Nybo (co-producer, Burma VJ) (2010)

Ecuador

• Guadalupe Llori (Ecuadorian politician)(2010)
• Xavier Bonilla (Ecuadorean political cartoonist for leading newspaper El Universo) (2017)

Egypt

• Mona Eltahawy (award-winning Egyptian journalist)(2010)
• Wael Ghonim (Egyptian internet activist) (2011)
• Bassem Youssef (Egyptian satirist and television host) (2014)^[1]
• Soraya Bahgat (Egyptian-Finnish women's rights advocate and founder of Tahrir Bodyguard) (2013)^[2]
• Omar Sharif Jr. (grandson of film star Omar Sharif, actor, model, and LGBT rights activist) (2016)

Estonia

• Mart Laar (former Prime Minister, Estonia)(2010)

Finland

• Soraya Bahgat (Egyptian-Finnish women's rights advocate and founder of Tahrir Bodyguard) (2013)^[2]

France

• Philippe Douste-Blazy (former foreign minister of France)(2011)

Gabon

• Marc Ona Essangui (president and founder of two organizations in Gabon) (2015)

Germany

• Peter Thiel (co-founder, PayPal) (2010)
• Daniel Domscheit-Berg (founder, Openleaks) (2011)
• Siegmar Faust (German author) (2010)

Ghana

• George Ayittey (Ghanaian economist)(2011)
• Anas Aremeyaw Anas (undercover journalist) (2017)

India

• Vincent Manoharan (Indian Dalit rights advocate) (2011)
• Kenan Malik (Indian-born English free expression advocate) (2015)

Iran

• Kambiz Hosseini (Iranian satirist, actor, and television and radio host) (2015)
• Maryam Faghihmani(Iranian human rights scholar and activist) (2015)
• Marina Nemat (former political prisoner, Iran) (2010, 11)
• Shirin Ebadi (Iranian Nobel Laureate) (2011)

Iraq

• Vian Dakhil (Iraqi parliamentarian) (2017)

Israel

• Dana Weiss (anchor, Israel’s Channel 2 News) (2011)

Jamaica

• Thomas Glave (Jamaican author, professor, activist)(2011)

Latvia

• Vytautas Landsbergis (former Latvian President)(2009)

Liberia

• Samuel Kofi Woods (Minister of Public Works, Liberia)(2010)
• Leymah Gbowee (Liberian activist) (2011)

Libya

• Ghazi Gheblawi (Libyan writer)(2011)
• Alaa Murabit (Libyan human rights activist and founder of NGO) (2015)

Malawi

Memory Banda (Malawian girls’ rights activist) (2017)

Malaysia

• Anwar Ibrahim (Leader of the Opposition, Malaysia) (2010)
• Nurul Izzah Anwar (Malaysian politician) (2015)

Maldives

• Mohamed Nasheed (human rights and environmental activist - the Maldives’ first democratically-elected president, serving from 2008 to 2012) (2017)

Mauritania

• Abdel Nasser Ould Yessa (founder, Mauritania’s SOS Slaves) (2011)

Mexico

• Sandra Rodriguez Nieto (Mexican journalist) (2015)

Morocco

• Ahmed Benchemsi (Moroccan journalist)(2011,12)
• Zineb El Rhazoui (Moroccan born journalist) (2015)

Nigeria

• Wole Soyinka (Nigerian playwright and poet) (2016)

North Korea

• Kang Chol-hwan (author, Aquariums of Pyongyang)(2010)
• Park Sang Hak (North Korean democracy activist) (2009)
• Ji Seong-Ho (North Korean refugee and president of a North Korean NGO) (2015) ^[3]
• Grace Jo (North Korean defector, activist, and the vice president of North Korean Refugees in the USA (NKinUSA) (2017)
• Yeonmi Park (North Korean defector and expert on the country's black market economy) (2014)

Norway

• Børge Brende (Foreign Minister of Norway and former managing director of the World Economic Forum) (2015)
• Åsne Seierstad (author, The Bookseller of Kabul)(2010)
• Knut Olav Amas (political editor, Norway’s Aftenposten)(2011)
• Hanne Skartveit (political editor, Norway’s Verdens Gang)(2011)
• Magne Ove Varsi (indigenous rights leader) (2009)
• Peder Lunde (Norwegian Olympic medallist) (2009)
• Kai Eide (U.N. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Head of UNAMA)(2010)
• Arne L. Lynngård (president of the Rafto Foundation)(2009)
• Jan Egeland (director, Human Rights Watch Europe)(2011)
• Jan Erik Helgesen (president, Venice Commission)(2010)
• John Peder Egenaes (secretary general, Amnesty International Norway)(2009)
• Therese Jebsen (executive director, Rafto Foundation)(2010)
• Fabian Stang (mayor, City of Oslo)(2011)
• Kjell Magne Bondevik (former Norwegian Prime Minister)(2009,10)
• Kristin Clemet (former education minister)(2009,10)
• Erna Solberg (current Norwegian Prime Minister of Norway)(2017)

Pakistan

• Asma Jahangir (leading Pakistani lawyer) (2012)
• Mukthar Mai (Pakistani women's rights advocate) (2010)
• Maria Toorpakai Wazir (professional Pakistani squash player and women's rights activist) (2017)
• Iyad El-Baghdadi (Palestinian writer from the Arab Spring) (2014)

Palestine

• Izzeldin Abuelaish (Palestinian doctor)(2011)

Peru

• Hernando de Soto (Peruvian economist)(via video)(2010)
• Alejandro Toledo (former president of Peru)(2011)

Poland

• Lech Walesa (former Polish president; Nobel Laureate)(2010)

Republic of Azerbaijan

• Malahat Nasibova (Azeri journalist)(2011)

Republic of Malawi

• Violet Banda (Malawian youth radio host) (2011)

Romania

• Elie Wiesel (author, Night) (via video)(2009)
• Emil Constantinescu (former president of Romania)(2009,10,11)

Russia

• Elena Kostyuchenko (Russian journalist and LGBT rights advocate) (2015)
• Grigory Shvedov (Russian journalist)(2011)
• Mark Belinsky (Digital Democracy)(2010)
• Garry Kasparov (Russian chess grandmaster and democracy advocate) (2010, 11)
• Vladimir Bukovsky (former Soviet political prisoner) (2009,10)
• Vladimir Kara-Murza (Russian opposition activist) (2016)
• Zhanna Nemtsova (Russian journalist, social activist) (2017)
• Mikhail Khodorkovsky (Russian entrepreneur) (2014)

Saudi Arabia

• Manal al-Sharif (women's rights activist) (2012)

Singapore

• Chee Soon Juan (Singapore Democratic Party leader)(2012)

Somalia

• Lelya Hussein (psychotherapist, writer, specialist on female genital mutilation and gender rights) (2017)

South Africa

• Andrew Feinstein (former South African politician)(2012)
• Busi Kheswa (South African LGBT activist) (2011)

Spain

• Maria Antonia Sánchez-Vallejo (foreign editor, Spain’s El Pais)(2011)

Sudan

• Amir Ahmad Nasr (Sudanese blogger) (2011)
• Erik Hersman (co-founder, Ushahidi software) (2011
• Lubna al-Hussein (Sudanese women's rights advocate) (2010)

Swaziland

• Thulani Maseko (human rights lawyer) (2016)

Sweden

• Claes Arvidsson (foreign editor, Sweden’s Svenska Dagbladet)(2011)
• Birgitta Ohlsson (Swedish Minister for European Union Affairs)(2010,11)

Syria

• Raed Fares (pro-democracy activist) (2017)
• Abdulrahman Al-Mawwas (co-founder of the Syrian Civil Defense) (2017)

Thailand

• Pravit Rojanaphruk (Persecuted Thai journalist and dissident) (2015)

Tibet

• Palden Gyatso (former Buddhist prisoner of conscience)(2009)

Tunisia

• Amira Yahyaoui (Founder of Al Bawsala, a Tunisian NGO) (2015)
• Lina Ben Mhenni (Tunisian activist) (2012)

Turkey

• Leyla Zana (former Turkish political prisoner) (2009)
• Mustafa Akyol (Turkish author and journalist) (2015)
• Elif Shafak (Turkish novelist) (2017)

Uganda

• Kasha Nabagesera (Ugandan rights activist) (2010)

Uruguay

• Luis Almagro (lawyer, diplomat, and 10th Secretary General of the Organization of American States) (2017)

United Arab Emirates

• Iyad El-Baghdadi (human rights activist, Palestinian Emirati internet commentator) (2014)^[4]

United States

• Larry Diamond (political science professor at Stanford University) (2015)
• Kimberley Motley (American human rights advocate and litigator practicing in Afghanistan) (2015)
• Barbara Demick (author, journalist, and North Korean expert)(2011)
• Benjamin Skinner (author, A Crime So Monstrous)(2010)
• Claudia Rosett (columnist, Forbes magazine)(2010)
• David Andelman (editor, World Policy Journal)(2011)
• Greg Mortenson (co-author, Three Cups of Tea)(2009)
• Jackson Diehl (deputy editorial page editor, Washington Post)(2011)
• James Traub (contributing writer, The NYT Magazine)(2010)
• Jay Nordlinger (senior editor, National Review)(2011)
• Jamie Kirchick (writer-at-large, Radio Free Europe)(2011)
• John Fund (columnist, Wall Street Journal)(2011)
• Michael C. Moynihan (senior editor, Reason magazine)(2010)
• Paul Steiger (chairman, Committee to Protect Journalists)(2011)
• Reihan Salam (columnist, Daily Beast)(2011)
• L. Craig Johnstone (Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations)(2009,11)
• Mona Eltahawy (Egyptian-American analyst)(2011)
• James Fallon (neuroscientist)(2011)
• Steven Levitsky (Harvard political scientist)(2011)
• Jack Healey (former Executive Director, Amnesty International)(2009)
• James O’Neill (Thiel Foundation, Clarium Capital)(2011)
• Jared Genser (president, Freedom Now; legal counsel for Liu Xiaobo)(2010, 12)
• Kate Hughes (Women for Women International)(2010)
• Mauro de Lorenzo (VP for Freedom and Free Enterprise, John Templeton Foundation)(2010)
• Paula Schrifer (director of advocacy, Freedom House)(2010)
• Zuhdi Jasser (President and Founder, American Islamic Forum for Democracy)(2010)
• Jimmy Wales (founder, Wikipedia; via video) (2010,11)
• Ebele Okobi-Harris (director of business and human rights, Yahoo) (2011)
• Amber Lyon (CNN correspondent) (2011)
• Jody Williams (Nobel laureate) (2011)
• Colin Crowell (internet technology policy expert) (2015)
• Liza Donnelly (writer/ cartoonist, The New Yorker, CBS News) (2016,7)
• Joe Lonsdale (American tech entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist) (2017)
• Carah Faye (American singer and songwriter) (2017)

Uzbekistan

• Mutabar Tadjibayeva (former Uzbeki political prisoner) (2009)

Venezuela

• Marcel Granier (Venezuelan journalist) (2010)
• Diego Arria (former President of the U.N. Security Council) (2010)
• Leopoldo Lopez (opposition leader, Venezuela) (2010)
• Ramón José Velásquez (former Venezuelan president) (via video) (2009)
• Rayma Suprani (Venezuelan political cartoonist) (2015)
• Antonietta Ledezma (Venezuelan human rights activist) (2017)
• Wuilly Arteaga (Venezuelan violinist and activist) (2017)

Vietnam

• Thich Quang Do (Vietnamese religious leader)(via video)(2010)
• Vo Van Ai (Vietnamese human rights activist) (2009)

Western Sahara

• Aminatou Haidari (human rights activist) (2016)

Yemen

• Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani (Yemeni journalist)(2010)

Zimbabwe

• Jestina Mukoko (Zimbabwean human rights activist) (2012)
• Evan Mawarire (Civil rights activist, founder of #ThisFlag movement) (2017)

References

External links

• Official site
• OsloFreedomForum's Channel on YouTube