You’ve probably noticed by now that Tammy Radio has been “Best Of” encores for this past week. That’s because I’m in Oslo, Norway for a human rights conference set to begin Monday, The Oslo Freedom Forum.
The Oslo Freedom Forum will bring together some of the world’s leading minds to honor heroic survivors of political oppression and persecution. The conference will showcase the testimonies and noble purpose of these men and women who risked their lives for freedom. With a guiding focus on civil and political rights, we will revisit the memoirs they wrote about their harrowing experiences. This literature of survival served to galvanize human rights movements across the globe and bears witness to the resilience of the human spirit. Featured speakers include Elena Bonner, Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Kang Chol-Hwan, Armando Valladares, Ramón José Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, Harry Wu, and Leyla Zana.
They will speak before an audience of human rights advocates, social and business entrepreneurs, and leaders from a wide spectrum of disciplines, some of whom will also take the stage for panel discussions. Noted participants include Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, Zainab Bangura, Aliaksandr Bialiatski, Emil Constantinescu, Jack Healey, Craig Johnstone, Jean-François Julliard, Vytautas Landsbergis, Leopoldo Lopez, Edward Lucas, Aidan McQuade, Greg Mortenson, Jacqueline Moudeina, Park Sang Hak, Hans Rosling, and Peter Thiel.
Our mission is to celebrate all that these remarkable individuals have done for humanity, inspire leaders from all walks of life with their narratives, and add valuable insight to the human rights movement.
In addition to attending, I have the honor of introducing Leyla Zana, a Kurdish rights and democracy activist who spent over ten years in Turkish prisons for her outspoken advocacy. Scroll down for her bio here.
I’ve really missed doing the show and being here but I will return home Friday May 22, and will be back with Tammy Radio for the weekend program on Saturday May 23. In the meantime, I will be blogging and on Twitter. My friends Maynard and Pat S. will also continue their grand tradition of keeping you well informed and entertained as well. 🙂 So even though I’m on tape for the next week, please do listen to Tammy Radio and regularly check in here at the blog. I’ll be with you here and commenting on the conference and the news of the day regularly.
I need a baby sitter and got in less trouble when I sat and listened to your show for three hours.
Travel, they say, increases your IQ. Yours was already at fever pitch so GOD SPEED getting home.
Don’t you believe it! Tammy’s not in Oslo, she’s in Athens!
Have fun Tammy! I know you will love it. I was in Norway for a couple of weeks on a military exercise when I was in the USAF. No idea what Oslo is like… we were just above the Artic Circle in Narvik. Outside of freezing to death out on the flightline, I have lots of good memories… very good beer, very nice people. One of the Norwegian military guys gave me a patch and I brought home a Norwegian Donald Duck comic book and a bottle of Coca-Cola.
The highlight came one night on the flightline (I was on the midnight shift) we were standing around after a job and all of a sudden we realized there were the Northern Lights! I couldn’t believe it. We just stared and stared.
I’ll be curious to hear your take on Oslo and the people there.
I emailed Alex Gladstein at Oslo Freedom Forum site, and he said that soon after the conference, the videos of the speeches will be posted on YouTube and at the conference website itself. Some of the guests and their stories sound very interesting, and we’ll get to see Tammy in action 🙂