Community Action Award Recipient: Maies Hriesh
My name is Mais Hriesh. I'm a senior, studying music and human rights. Considering my two focuses, PEN America was the perfect fit for me since its work is right on the intersection where the arts and human rights come together. These are the very first few sentences that are shown on PEN's website: "PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible." Looking at this reassured me that PEN was the right place for me to enhance my experience and knowledge.
During my time at PEN, I'm going to be working on a new project that they are launching. The final goal of the project is to create a toolkit for journalists and writers to help guide them and protect them from hateful trolls and online harassment. It looks like after the recent elections, the number of writers and journalists harassed online has significantly increased. As a result, PEN received a grant to launch this project and release it in April 2018. Laura Macomber was especially hired to run and monitor this project. Laura and I started at PEN exactly at the same time, so we were both learning together about the nature of PEN’s work and its way of functioning. The fact that we are learning together makes it a lot easier for me to be more confident about the work I’m asked to do.
My role is mainly research-based, since my supervisors need to have an overview of all the different angles the project might cover. This is a first step towards completing the project, so they can have a clearer idea about what the toolkit should look like. My work so far has been eye-opening. It has allowed me to explore the notion of free expression more in depth and how problematic it can be in some cases, especially in the era we live in right now.
I look forward to learning more and seeing how the project shapes. And of course, none of this would have been possible without the help of the CCE and the CAA. Thank you so much for providing me with such an opportunity.