The Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought has awarded former ICORN Guest Writer Sihem Bensedrine its 13th annual prize, which she will receive during a ceremony in Berlin on 25 November. The award recognizes individuals who ‘have rendered outstanding contributions to Freedom of Thought in the Arabic World.’ Bensedrine is a distinguished journalist in her native Tunisia, writing for and founding several publications that were banned by the government for being too outspoken against the regime. Her newspaper ‘Kalima’ (‘word’) was not allowed to go into print, but its online format attracted over 40,000 hits per week from Tunisian citizens who were able to avoid the censors. Bensedrine has observed that “the internet is the virtual space that is most likely to provide a secure place for resistance. The relatively free communication in the World Wide Web has proven to be a key to the democratization of society.” Although forced to leave Tunisia in 2009 due to increasing threats on her life after repeated attacks and an incidence of arrest and torture at the hands of government officials, Bensedrine returned to her homeland after President Ben Ali’s ouster and is now working towards securing justice and freedom of expression in a democratic Tunisia. On 20-21 January 2012, Bensedrine also will participate in the Arab Literature Conference in Frankfurt. This year’s discussions will explore the role that arts and literature may have played in the lead-up to the revolutions of the Arab Spring and how the arts can impact these still-evolving governments.
