"We have reversed the decision and will reinstate Dr Abdel-Fattah's invitation to speak at the next Adelaide Writers' Week in 2027, the board said in a statement, apologising unreservedly for the harm it had caused to her. Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right, the board said, acknowledging that it had fallen well short of upholding that right."
"Abdel-Fattah, an award-winning author of 11 novels, said in her own statement that she accepted the board's apology and would consider the invitation to participate next year. I accept this apology as acknowledgement of our right to speak publicly and truthfully about the atrocities that have been committed against the Palestinian people and a vindication of our collective solidarity and mobilisation against anti-Palestinian racism, bullying and censorship, she said in a statement shared on social media."
An Australian arts festival retracted its decision to exclude Randa Abdel-Fattah and apologised, reinstating her invitation to speak at Adelaide Writers' Week in 2027. The festival cancelled the entire Writers' Week programme after about 180 writers withdrew in solidarity with Abdel-Fattah, prompting the board to reverse course and apologise unreservedly for the harm caused. The board acknowledged it had fallen short of upholding intellectual and artistic freedom. Abdel-Fattah accepted the apology as recognition of the right to speak about atrocities against Palestinians and a vindication of collective solidarity, and she highlighted the need for antiracism education and institutional safeguards.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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