This Friday 10 June 2011, the Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, will be speaking at the Free Word Centre about the importance of freedom of expression and the media for the protection of all other human rights. The event is hosted by the CoE, ARTICLE 19 and the London Metropolitan University.

ARTICLE 19 and London Metropolitan University will be presenting two issue papers at this event on “The Role of Public Service Media for Human Rights” and “Social Media and Human Rights”.

The event will bring together media outlets, lawyers, human rights activists, academics and politicians to discuss the shifting frontier of the media in the digital age, and its importance in ensuring respect and adherence to all human rights globally. It will be co-chaired by the Commissioner, and the papers will be included as part of a collection to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya.

There are limited spaces left, so if you are interested please email Judy Taing (judy@article19.org) as soon as possible with your name, title and affiliation. The event begins at 11.00am on 10 June 2011, a light lunch will be served, and will take place at the Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Rd, London, EC1R 3GA.  This is the invitation to the event.