The #FreeAllWords text and translation fund is a joint support initiative for first and foremost Belarusian and Ukrainian writers.
It will be coordinated under the umbrella of the European Writers’ Council (EWC) and with the participation of its 46 member organisations from 30 countries, as well as with the help of the Federation of European Literary Translation Associations CEATL.
#FreeAllWords was initiated by the authors’ associations A*dS (Authors and Translators of Switzerland), Forfatterforbundet (Norway), and the Community of Belarusian Writers (Belarus).
#FreeAllWords will subsequently be extended to authors in the European book sector who deal with anti-war themes, for example in connection with Ukraine and the Russian war of aggression, with human rights attacks or dictatorial regimes, such as in Belarus, or with restrictions on free speech through state censorship or oppressive laws, in their works.
The aim is to establish this donation- and foundation-based project in such a way that more and more European democratic, war-critical and human rights-defending writers’ voices, who are condemned to silence in their countries, are given an opportunity to be read and heard.
#FreeAllWords aims to build a bridge of free speech, democracy and understanding between writers, cultures, nations and languages.
