The good people at Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) have contacted me about an upcoming event that I thought Monitor readers might be interested in. From 8-11 August MLDI will be hosting an East Africa Freedom of Expression Litigation Surgery in Kampala, Uganda.
I have no formal connection to MLDI, but know their work on freedom of expression to be of the highest quality. Among many important cases, MLDI was crucial in bringing the successful case of Konaté v Burkina Faso before the African Court. I would encourage all eligible Monitor readers to consider applying.This event looks like a great opportunity for high quality training in an important and dynamic field of human rights. The call for applications is below, whilst more details can be found here.
[border margin=”no”][/border]
Call for Applications: East Africa Freedom of Expression Litigation Surgery
8 – 11 August 2016, Kampala, Uganda
The Media Legal Defence Initiative (MLDI) is pleased to announce that it is calling for applications from lawyers based in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi to participate in a forthcoming litigation surgery on the right to freedom of expression.
MLDI provides legal support to journalists, bloggers and independent media worldwide to enable them to continue with their reporting. A significant portion of MLDI’s work is currently conducted in the East African region. Consequently, MLDI is continually seeking to strengthen its network of lawyers to work within the region to further the regional freedom of expression framework.
Participants will be selected on the following criteria:
- The surgery is open to lawyers from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi;
- The lawyers can either be working in private practice, or be working for or be affiliated with NGOs promoting the right to freedom of expression in East Africa through litigation;
- Exceptionally strong applications from lawyers who have not yet undertaken freedom of expression work, but have experience litigating other human rights cases and have a strong interest in undertaking freedom of expression work, will be considered as well. A maximum of 12 participants will be selected;
- The lawyers must have a demonstrated interest in and/or knowledge of the right to freedom of expression and international and regional human rights law;
- The lawyers must be involved in, or considering, litigating a case that addresses violations of the right to freedom of expression. With their application, lawyers must submit a case study of a case that they are litigating or intend to litigate that could be discussed and workshopped during the litigation surgery.
Closing date for applications: Monday 16 May 2016
Shortlisted applicants will be notified soon after the closing date and should be available for Skype or telephone interviews on 6 to 8 June 2016.
For more information and the application form please visit http://ow.ly/10gBIE
[border margin=”no”][/border]