Program: 12:30 Buffet lunch 1:15 - 2:30 Panel As situations of war and mass violations of human rights occur around the globe, our hyper-mediatized world responds through immediate documentation, dissemination, and debate. Syria's ongoing conflict has been no exception as it is simultaneously embedded deeply in the lives of the Syrian people and in the international discourse of the media, global leaders, humanitarian groups, and activists alike. Representations of human suffering and injustice in text, speech, and image are complicated terrains of political and ethical choices. Since the start of the Syrian Civil War, the anonymous collective Abounaddara has engaged in this international debate using film tactics, releasing one short "bullet film" each week into the global discourse. Abounaddara has been nominated for the 2014 Human Rights Tulip of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and is the recipient of The New School's Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics. The event will begin with a selection of Abounaddara's short films to serve as the point of departure for a broader panel discussion around the intersection of the Right to the Image, the dignity of the individual, and the freedom of the press. Participants: Charif Kiwan, member and spokesperson, Abounaddara Susie Linfield, Professor, New York University Suzanne Nossel, Executive Director, PEN American Center Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Division With opening remarks by Peter van der Vliet, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations
New York City, NY; NYC