The numbers – two days, 208 participants, one drum solo, two catwalks, innumerable cups of coffee and tea, and zero panels – tell only part of the story of what happened when the IFEX network and some of its allies and partners met for a face-to-face meeting in Berlin.
Over two days in April, IFEX held its first face-to-face network convening since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We came together to deepen the connections that support our work as we tackle the threats to freedom of expression and information that increasingly constrain our world.
Opportunities for members of this global network (more than 100 member organisations based in over 70 different countries) to be in the same physical space and time are rare – and important. True collaboration, the hallmark of IFEX, is based on communication, and we communicate with so much more than words when we are together.
Our commitment to authentic collaboration is underpinned by our commitment to continual learning. One of the main outcomes of IFEX’s Annual and General Meeting, which took place the day before the two-day Convening, was a vote to adopt a set of specific principles of collaboration that we worked on in 2023. These will help us build strong and respectful practices, rooted in our efforts to work together.
To make the best possible use of this actual face time in Berlin, we decided to prioritize space for the kinds of vibrant interactions that are the hallmark of corridor conversations and coffee breaks in more traditional meetings.
So instead of building an agenda where people have to squeeze in time to connect with one another, our agenda was 100% dedicated to creating opportunities for those “corridor conversations”. No panels, no stages, and no podiums. Just full-on engagement with the issues.
Our opening plenary kicked off with a mesmerizing drumming performance and an invitation to feel our individual and collective power.
IFEX Executive Director Rachael Kay and Council Convener Tabani Moyo then welcomed IFEX members, friends and colleagues.
Rachael Kay and Tabani Moyo open the IFEX 2024 Convening in Berlin
Rachael spoke to the Convening’s theme of “Come Together”.
“Why Come Together? We want to come together and see each other, but also come together around our commitment to freedom of expression and solidarity with this unique membership of activists. To use this moment to build our connections, reinforce our work, hone our tactics, share our stories and aspirations and find ways to collaborate.”
Tabani’s opening remarks also set a thoughtful tone.
“Here we are together in Berlin, a complicated city at present… but all part of a bigger global picture we are facing in this context. I want to suggest that during our time together we consider those who are not here with us, those who are facing incredible hurdles and dangers resulting from numerous conflicts around the world.“
Given that this is the last year of our current Strategic Plan, it was a timely opportunity to ask each member to share what they saw as the key threats we need to pay attention to in the next five years. As we would expect, while the resulting wall of pink and yellow post-it notes reflected the diversity of the network, some themes appeared again and again, among them the global rise in authoritarianism, conflict, mis and disinformation, gendered violence, artificial intelligence, transnational repression, impunity, and the climate crisis.
In the plenary entitled What we are really, really, good at, participants shared with each other the experience, knowledge, and skills each brings to the network, articulating and reinforcing our individual and collective power.
The two days flew by.
We took the positive energy generated in the all-participant plenary sessions into smaller working groups where we could dig into some of the most pressing issues confronting our work.
Planned break-out sessions provided structured spaces to address journalists’ health and safety, climate justice, the regulation of digital technologies, overcoming historical power imbalances, co-creating methodologies for change-making, investigating the impact of generative artificial intelligence on our work and our world, and engaging with non-traditional actors.
In addition to these, we opened up designated ‘Corridors to Conversation’ rooms each day, where members could propose topics and invite others to share their ideas, experiences, successes, and struggles. Themes included: When advocacy fails; Surveillance against online activists; Actions to address the crisis in Haiti; Current Myanmar issues; Freedom of expression in Germany (or lack of it); Secret Interpol dossiers on journalists and HRDs in exile; and Countering toxic polarising narratives.
Participants listen to Ahmad Quraishi, Executive Director of the Afghanistan Journalists Centre (AFJC), during a session of Corridors to Conversations.
We did not neglect the health of our own sector. We put our heads together to share practical strategies for care and resilience, and – as we do every chance we get – made sure there were opportunities to connect as friends as well as colleagues, whether over food, or on the dance floor!
In his closing remarks on 16 April, Tabani shared these inspiring words:
“You here, and those of like mind globally, represent the beautiful future of a world yet to be born. The multiplicity of challenges facing the world is but a delayed echo of a desperate struggle which should be engaged relentlessly as we resist the prevailing order that undermines the rights of the peoples of the world.”
Our Convening opened with a drum solo. As Rachael said in a rousing call to action to everyone in the room: “Now it’s up to us to keep the beat going.”
The day before, members had shared their ideas for how this global network can respond effectively to the challenges of the current and future context. They identified a need for greater solidarity and more collective action. Less competition, and more commitment. Strategic work with donors to ensure a shared understanding of what is needed. Making sure we have the time and resources to do the work, and concrete ways to measure our impact. The Convening provided the space to put this into action right away. As Rachael noted in her closing remarks:
“We asked you to come together. Our hope is that we came together as colleagues and leave as friends, a true community of activists called IFEX.”
Click here to check out some of our favourite photos from the event!
IFEX 2024 Network Convening participants