Representative of the Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI) Sarajevo participated at the Defenders’ Days 2018 conference, which was held near Stockholm, Sweden. Defenders’ Days is one of the world’s largest conferences for and with human rights defenders. It is organized by Civil Rights Defenders and takes place at Djurönäset between 9–12 April.

The purpose of the conference is to strengthen and support human rights defenders. Additionally, it is also to create opportunities for networking and exchange of knowledge between people who every day, despite risks to their own safety, fight for democracy, freedom of expression, and human rights.

The conference includes workshops for, and together with, human rights defenders. Among a broad list of topics, this year’s conference focuses on digital security, psychosocial aspects of security, and innovation as means to combat human rights violations.

In connection with Defenders’ Days, Civil Rights Defenders hands out the annual Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award. The award ceremony was held on April 12, 2018. This year, the recipient is the Turkish human rights defender and journalist Murat Celikkan – one of Turkey’s strongest voices for a more open Turkey where human rights are respected.

Close to 200 human rights defenders participated in Defenders’ Days 2018, and they came from 45 countries and 5 continents.

If you want to know more about the conference which has been organized since 2013, please visit the following website: https://defendersdays.civilrightsdefenders.org/about/

Agenda of the conference and the award ceremony can be found on the following link: https://defendersdays.civilrightsdefenders.org/conference/defenders-days-2018/agenda-2018/