22nd August 2011 by Emerson Comments Off
With our sell-out Edinburgh gig Stand Up For Freedom over for another year, our time at the Edinburgh festival is almost at a close. If you’re enjoying the festival there’s still time to take in one of our Imprisoned Writers readings, and we’ll be announcing who will win our Freedom of Expression award on Thursday 25th August.
If you missed Stand Up For Freedom, don’t worry. Our quick round-up just below will make you feel like you’ve sat in the green room alongside Ed Bryne, Roisin Conarty and Mark Watson. And we’ve got exclusive footage from the gig, and others at the Festival, in the next episode of Amnesty TV. Read full post
13th August 2011 by Emerson 2 Comments »
Our Stand Up For Freedom gig – the highlight of every Edinburgh Fringe – has almost sold out! That’s right, if you want to see Russell Kane, Mark Watson, Roisin Conarty, Ed Bryne, Holly Walsh, Kristen Schaal & Kurt Braunohler plus a good few others all on the same bill, you’ve missed the boat.
But don’t despair, we’re giving away two tickets on Monday and all you need to do is send a tweet. A freedom of expression tweet, of course.
If you could say anything to anyone, what would it be? Tweet us your answer to win
Include in your tweet the URL http://amn.st/SUFFComp and the hashtags #edfringe and #speakfree – otherwise we won’t spot your answer! We’ll pick our favourite at 5pm Monday and announce the winner on @ArtsFromAmnesty.
Here’s some examples to get you going…
I’d tell the 3 pigs to invest in a proper builder! #speakfree to win #edfringe tickets: http://amn.st/SUFFComp
I’d tell JFK “duck when you go past the grassy knoll”. #edfringe #speakfree http://amn.st/SUFFComp
And while you’re here, take action…
Whilst we’re at the Fringe we’re campaigning to free the UAE 5, five activists jailed simply for criticising the authorities. Join our petition and call for their release.
4th August 2011 by Emerson Comments Off
Mark Watson caught mid... something at Stand Up for Freedom 2010.
I love the Edinburgh Festival. I went for the first time last year and immediately fell in love with the sheer range of events in theatres, pubs, back rooms. Want to watch a show about death in the university medical school’s anatomy department? No problem. How about a one-man comedy show that includes a whisky tasting? Go on then.
The festival is a celebration of freedom of expression in all its glory and its shame: from the acts that make you laugh, cry or ponder the mysteries of the universe, to those who just make you wonder whether they’ve given up their day job.
Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. While protestors continue to be arrested, shot at and beaten up just for saying what they believe, we’ve still have a job to do.
So Amnesty will be back in Edinburgh this August showcasing some of the best in freedom of expression – with our Imprisoned Writers events, Book Festival annual lecture, and of course our comedy gig Stand Up For Freedom. We’ve a soft spot for using comedy to get across our message (just have a quick look at Amnesty TV), and this year won’t be any different, with Ed Byrne, Holly Walsh and Russell Kane just some of the comics giving their comedy a human rights edge for us.
Whilst we’re in Edinburgh we won’t miss an opportunity for some campaigning, of course. We’re highlighting the case of the UAE 5 – five activists who have been locked up in the United Arab Emirates simply for expressing their opinions online. They’re charged with “insulting officials” after they called for democracy and questioned how the country is run. That could mean five years in jail. So much for freedom of expression.
Join us now by signing the petition for the UAE 5’s release. And if you’re in Edinburgh, join us at our comedy or book festival events to get your own taste of freedom of expression. And hopefully an insult or two without the risk of imprisonment.
19th August 2010 by SamSam 1 Comment »
19:05 – Tonight is our big night in Edinburgh with our Stand Up for Freedom comedy gig featuring the best of comedians the festival has to offer. We’ll be live blogging and tweeting at http://twitter.com/amnestyuk all night long.
This show isn’t being recorded, there will be no video, there will be no audio and all the tickets have sold out. So this is the only place to find out what’s happening.
Read full post