Reposted from Sarjau | May 15, 2012 | Oslo Freedom Forum brings together the global human rights movement ; Also see The fourth annual Oslo freedom forum, May 11, 2012

By David Rowan

I'm fortunate to get to attend a good number of first-rate conferences -- but I've never spent time among such an inspiring community as I did last week for three days in Oslo.

The Oslo Freedom Forum, set up three years ago by the Venezuelan-born activist Thor Halvorssen, is a gathering of 250 human-rights campaigners, supporters, commentators and policymakers where speakers include Nobel Peace Prize-winners and former child slaves. Over intensely moving sessions at Oslo's Christiania Theatre and the nearby Grand Hotel, and afterwards over dinner, drinks and late-night conversation, stories are shared, campaigns sharpened and new alliances forged. If the global human-rights movement were to create its own unified representative body, it would look something like this.

The power of the event -- whose sponsors include Sergey Brin's and Peter Thiel's charitable foundations -- lies in the seamless mix of grassroots activists, many of whom have risked their lives to speak out, and the top-level policymakers and influencers who can act on what they learn. You might run into Hollywood glamour in Julia Ormond, or world-class philanthropists such as Omidyar Network's Pam Omidyar -- but the real stars were the former political prisoners, child slaves, torture victims and tribal-rights campaigners who had in many cases taken big risks in order to travel to Norway. And each one I spoke to made me understand just how vital the role of the western media can be in articulating their stories and, in an oft-heard phrase, speaking truth to power.

The organisers provided a useful list of statistics about the speakers: since 2009 there have been 121 of them from 71 nations, and 36 of these speakers have been imprisoned for political reasons. Some 23 have been tortured; three have been enslaved. Yet they have persisted in highlighting their causes, and taken the ultimate risks in giving their communities a voice: five have won the Nobel Peace Prize, eight have appeared on the cover of TIME magazine, and 12 have been on TIME's 100 Most Influential People list. One particular statistic that conference organisers enjoy sharing: "Number of Oslo Freedom Forum banners that line Oslo's streets during the conference: 24. Number of OFF banners removed due to complaints from the Russian presidency about the word 'freedom' during Medvedev's 2010 state visit to Norway: 24."

I filled my notebook during the conference, and Wired will be following up where we can with magazine stories, space on our Wired 2012 conference stage, plus other forms of support to these extraordinary people. But rather than spill those notebooks here, I simply offer you 30 things I learned at the Oslo Freedom Forum -- with congratulations to all involved. You can discover more at youtube and on Twitter at @OsloFreedomFrm.

Continued at Wired Magazine. . .