On behalf of Lumen, I am very excited to launch our first annual Open Call for Ideas. If you are interested in information freedom, check out our link and submit an idea: https://www.lumen.global/lumen-2020-open-call
At a popular meeting spot inside the British Museum in London (usually next to the lion statue, which is behind these brilliant protest signage), the museum set up an area where children can create and share what they are protesting…. Continue Reading →
Just saw this online and hope students will apply for this awesome scholarship. “Columbia University has launched a scholarship program to support individuals who have been displaced as a result of the conflict in Syria. These students will receive full… Continue Reading →
I’m excited to share that LUMEN has launched! With a shared passion for increasing information flow into and out of North Korea, our stellar team will continue to quietly work hard to mobilize cutting edge ideas, technologies, and and big… Continue Reading →
The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict is putting on a free seven-week online course titled ” “Civil Resistance Struggles: How Ordinary People Win Rights, Freedom, and Justice.” There are 50 spots for people all over the world, and applications are due… Continue Reading →
Hi all! For my Oxford half marathon that I’m running on October 8, I’m raising money for the Terrence Higgins Trust. Their mission is to end the transmission of HIV in the UK, and to enable people with HIV to… Continue Reading →
On March 22, Member of EU Parliament Lazslo Tokes hosted an event at the EU Parliament on the power of information in North Korea. He played a big role in sparking the Romanian Revolution in 1989, and hsa been very… Continue Reading →
A few friends who escaped from North Korea recently asked me why some Americans don’t vote. “If you CAN vote, why won’t you vote?” I had no answer for them. I told them I have no idea. The desire… Continue Reading →
Lord David Alton and MP Fiona Bruce invited me to speak at the UK Parliament. More than anything, it was so encouraging for people of their stature to be so genuinely invested and interesting in helping people in and from… Continue Reading →
Ava DuVernay’s new documentary, “13th” is a powerful, compelling narrative of how mass-incarceration in the United States is an extension of slavery. Drawing from interviews with professors, politicians, activists, and former-inmates-turned-activists, along with media and news footage from the past ninety years,… Continue Reading →
The Oxford International Relations Society hosted a talk with Mrs. Park Jihyun, who presented a powerful and haunting overview of her experiences of living in and escaping from North Korea. The room was so packed that some students were turned away…. Continue Reading →
The night before her speech at the Oslo Freedom Forum, Roya Mahboob and I chatted about her organization in Afghanistan. Digital Citizen Fund teaches IT to girls across the country to empower them and their communities through IT, internet, and information. A… Continue Reading →
As a breakout session, our panel was not live streamed so I’ll share a few photos from our session here. Isaac Stone Fish from Foreign Policy and role model Gayle Karen-Young moderated and facilitated the panel and Q&A with Ji… Continue Reading →
As the Syrian Civil War wages in its fifth year, we continue to see images and read news articles of how increasingly bloody and more complex this conflict is becoming. With ISIS having gained a stronghold in Raqqa and elsewhere… Continue Reading →
During my trip to Seoul this summer, I met extraordinary people who escaped North Korea and are involved in service projects throughout South Korea. I was particularly inspired by North Korean defectors who are now college students in Seoul who want to “achieve unification… Continue Reading →
A group of artists in New York City are creating a participatory project, inviting you to send a message of peace to North Korea. Check out their fundraising video and links to learn more about it. This project made me appreciate… Continue Reading →
Hyeonseo Lee graciously offered to do a Q&A with Parlio, an online forum for intelligent conversations on issues that matter. Please read her Q&A with Parlio on this link. She carefully answered every question that was asked on our platform and I… Continue Reading →
After I interviewed a few folks at the Unification Media Group for a book that I’m working on, they asked me to do an interview about my background as part of a weekly program they broadcast into North Korea, targeting young North… Continue Reading →
Ji Seong-Ho walked 6,000 miles with just one leg and one arm on the crutches that his father made for him to defect North Korea for the second time to reach freedom in South Korea. He was caught during his first… Continue Reading →
Normally, I try to avoid re-posting articles on the blog (even though there are so many good ones out there!) but this one was too good, too interesting, and too unique to not re-post. Mr. Yeong-Jin Jang arrived in South Korea… Continue Reading →