After an unprecedented year in 2020, ARTICLE 19 is pleased to welcome new members to its International Board.
Among its Trustees, ARTICLE 19 now consists of the ex-UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, David Kaye; a Lebanese information security technologist, Abir Ghattas; a British global IT specialist, David Viney; the director of PEN Russia, Nadezdha (Nadia) Azhgikhina; and an Indian corporate lawyer, Aparna Ravi.
The new Trustees bring a diverse range of expertise from sectors including media, digital rights, financial management and INGO governance. Their experience in regions including Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East will bring new insights.
Executive Director Quinn McKew welcomed the new members of the Board, saying: “2020 was a challenging year, but the new Trustees will bring a fresh perspective to ARTICLE 19. We look forward to working closely with them, particularly as we develop our new six-year strategy.”
She also expressed her gratitude to outgoing staff Directors. Ana Cristina Ruelas Serna, Director for Mexico and Central America, stepped down at the end of 2020. Fatou Jagne Senghore, Director for Senegal and West Africa, is stepping down this year.
“These women are strong and fearless defenders of freedom of expression. We have been fortunate to call them colleagues at ARTICLE 19. They have made an enormous impact in their regions and globally, including the pivotal role Fatou played during the transition of power in the Gambia in 2017.”
—————————————————————————————————————
Notes to Editors:
Background on the Trustees
Nadezdha (Nadia) Azhgikhina is a Russian journalist, literary critic, and member of feminist journalism projects and has been appointed to fill a gap in expertise for our Eastern Europe and Central Asia region left by former Vice-Chair, Galina Arapova’s departure. Nadia founded the Association of Russian Women Journalists with Irina Jurna in 1992 and was a staff journalist on the daily Nezavisimaya gazeta (Moscow Independent) where she inaugurated the first women’s page in a Russian newspaper. Among many other interventions in her field, Nadia was a Vice-President of European Federation of Journalists 2013-2019 and as a lecturer at Moscow University has taught in the USA, UK, Canada, Sweden, France, India, and Kazakhstan. She is currently Director of the recently registered PEN Moscow.
Abir Ghattas is an information security technologist who has advised a number of organisations, and is currently working with Human Rights Watch. A Lebanese activist, Abir brings with her a strong background in gender and human rights and technology. She was the communications and outreach director for Raseef22, a PAN Arab independent media platform and also the outreach director for Majal, a Middle Eastern network of digital platforms centered on securing freedom of expression and access to information. Abir’s work and research focuses on women rights, digital rights and the intersection of gender and technology.
David Kaye teaches law at the University of California, Irvine. From 2014 – 2020 he served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. He is also the author of Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet (2019). Since October 2020 he has been serving as the Independent Chair of the Board of the Global Network Initiative. He has also written for international and American law journals and numerous media outlets. David began his legal career with the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a former member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law.
Aparna Ravi is a Partner with SAMVĀD: Partners law firm (currently based in New Delhi) but she has worked with global companies based in the US and the UK. Aparna brings experience of finance and corporate law. She is closely connected to the media environment in India and sits on the board of the leading Indian newspaper, The Hindu. She has been a legal counsel in committees on sexual harassment and has experience as advisor to a number of non-governmental organisations in India.
David Viney is currently Director of Global Enterprise Platforms, British Standards Institute (BSI). David brings his experience as a global IT director with a strong financial background (including training as a chartered accountant). He was formerly Global Head of Enterprise Systems for the Arup engineering group (2014-18) and Head of Technology, Corporate Systems of the BBC (2011 -2014). He has extensive experience on governance boards having served on the boards of Privacy International and global media NGO, SciDev.Net.
—————————————————————————————————————
For more information or to request an interview, please contact Nicola Kelly: [email protected]