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PEN International has been awarded a major four-year grant by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
PEN International, the worldwide association of writers, will receive a grant of 31m SEK (£2.4m) from the agency.
The award will support PEN International’s freedom of expression and literary work over the next four years and allow the body to develop "strong, diverse, and sustainable PEN Centres that serve to advance PEN’s mission and increase support," the organisation said. These centres will also enhance communication and campaign to protect and promote freedom of expression, literature and linguistic rights.
Carles Torner, executive director of PEN International, said: “We’re grateful for Sida’s decision to continue – and increase – its support for PEN International, granting us a stronger foundation for the coming years.”
He added: “PEN, the oldest international writers’ organization and one of the world’s oldest NGOs, will soon be 100-years-old; its work promoting literature and free expression has never been needed more than now: Sida are enabling us to maintain a truly global reach.”
Peeter Kaaman from Sida added: “Sida considers PEN International a strategic partner in our global efforts to protect and promote freedom of expression. With its long history and broad coverage through its national Centres, PEN International is well positioned to influence policy and legislation for the benefit of writers at risk and for freedom of expression in general at both global and national level.”
Sida initially began supporting PEN’s international programmes in 2004 and since then has played an integral role in the development of PEN’s civil society programme, which in 2014 worked with 45,402 young people, 909 teachers, 590 writers, 1438 community members, 34 NGO representatives and 68 additional stakeholders in 23 countries across the globe.
In addition to its support for PEN’s civil society programmes, in 2012 Sida extended its grant to support PEN’s capacity building and core organizational expansion.