ICORN welcomes two new additions to its Secretariat in Stavanger, Norway
With ensuring crises and conflicts across the world, most recently in Afghanistan and Ukraine, ICORN has seen a sharp increase in applications for safe creative and intellectual havens from persecuted writers, artists, and journalists from over 80 different countries. Simultaneously, ICORN Cities of Refuge have also grown both in number and capacity of their work to address the intensified and persistent threats on freedom of expression and thought globally. This has meant that the ICORN Secretariat has also had to step up its ability to respond and as part of this has welcomed Basim and Elizabeth to the team in Stavanger.
The new Training and Development Coordinator Basim Mardan joined the ICORN Secretariat in February 2022 and is responsible for the strengthening and developing of the capacity of ICORN Cities to protect and promote their residents. In addition to this, he works closely with both ICORN residents and ICORN city coordinators through advice, support, and training. Prior to joining ICORN, Basim served as Researcher and Writers at Risk Protection Officer at PEN International as well as freelance consultant and translator.
Basim Mardan professional approach is also informed by his personal experience of being a persecuted writer, playwright, translator and human rights activist in Mosul, Iraq, following from which he was the ICORN resident in Skien, Norway between 2006 and 2008. Basim holds a BA in Translation and Linguistics from the University of Mosul, specialising in Arabic into English and English into Arabic translation.
The new Communication and Outreach Coordinator Elizabeth Mashova joined the ICORN Secretariat in March 2022 and is responsible for the research, production, and development of content for ICORN’s public and social media platforms. Prior to starting her role at ICORN, Elizabeth has worked as Programme Coordinator for a social mobility charity as well as Publicity and Marketing Intern for a social enterprise, aiding people with disabilities in the UK. Elizabeth Mashova holds a BA in History from the University of Exeter and an MSc in European and Global Governance from the University of Bristol in the UK.
More information as well as Basim and Elizabeth’s contact details can be found here.
Latest news
-
08.03.24
-
28.02.24
-
20.02.24
-
16.02.24
-
09.02.24