This HagueTalks will focus on the opportunities that media provide for human rights and freedom of expression. Three speakers from Nigeria, Kuwait and Turkey share in a personal talk how they use and transform media to create a dialogue on human right issues in their own countries.

Stories and news are more accessible than ever to people all around the world. Social media can provide a platform for human rights activists and underrepresented in society such as women and LGBT. But how is media really changing the work of human rights activists? How can it be used for the benefit of human rights and freedom of expression? And what are the risks?

Three speakers from Nigeria, Kuwait and Turkey will give a short, personal talk and have a discussion with each other and the audience on how media can be used and supported for the benefit of human rights and freedom of expression.

Join the conversation and share your own insights!

About the speakers

• Engin Onder is from Turkey. He is the co-founder of 140journos, Turkey’s trending new media publisher. He was named as “the Man Transforming Journalism in Turkey” in TIME Magazine’s “Next Generation Leaders” series in 2015. He has been in a constant effort to understand, analyze and tell about Turkey since 2012.
• Ummi Bukar (Nigeria). As a gender rights activist, Ummi Bukar specializes in media for development. She strongly believes in providing a platform for direct voices, especially for the underrepresented in the society, women in particular. Among others, she has made a documentary highlighting the role of women in peace and security, and how conflict has changed gender roles in a conservative Muslim society.
• Atyab Al-Shatti (Kuwait). Atyab Al-Shatti is a lawyer, author and a journalist for Kuwait Times Newspaper. Atyab is currently combining working as the Deputy Secretary General of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights with practicing law at Al Adwani law firm. As a human rights activist she focuses mainly on the human rights situation in the gulf region, with a particular interest in studies regarding gaps and shortfalls in national laws compared to the international conventions Kuwait has signed regarding human rights. Besides her work as a lawyer, Atyab published two novels and writes for the legal segment of the Arab Times newspaper.
• The talk will be moderated by Nana Akosua Hanson. She is a cultural producer in Ghana who organizes artistic events and public conversations that covers a range of social justice topics.