Herb Block Foundation, Washington, DC. In January 2004, Cartoonists
Rights Network, International was informed that the Herb Block Foundation of
Washington, DC was granting it $25,000 for general operating support for the
year. CRNI is deeply grateful to the Herb Block Foundation for its foresight
and confidence in its efforts to unite and educate editorial cartoonists all
over the world on issues of freedom of the press and human rights. The award was
the maximum that the HBF gives to any single organization. Please visit their
web site at:
Herbert Block Foundation
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Donors
to the Cartoonists Rights Network:
CRN/Eastern Europe based in Ploiesti, Romania is funded by a generous
donation from the Open Society Institute in Hungary. Now in our second
year with OSI, CRN/Eastern Europe is operating as a model for other CRN regional
offices. In October of this year, CRN will be undertaking a regional CRN
leadership workshop in Douala, Cameroon West Africa for cartoonists from Ghana,
Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon and Zimbabwe using the lessons learned from our OSI
funded project in Romania.
OSI West Africa is interested in learning how editorial cartoonists can
become more effective as communicators. CRN and OSI will investigate how the
illiterate and semiliterate audience interprets editorial cartoons: are
editorial cartoons an unappreciated but effective way to reach semiliterate
audiences with important developmental and political messages? Can cartoonists
assist in nation building by promoting political dialogue with an entirely new
readership?
The Freedom Forum in Rosslyn, Virginia, USA also supported CRN in West
Africa. In both Ghana and Cameroon, the Freedom Forum used CRN experts to run
workshops for editorial cartoonists on issues dealing with freedom of expression
in hostile environments.
The New York Times Company Foundation has given two grants to CRN
International to help us publish our "Lobbying Booklets." Unique in human
rights advocacy or journalism, CRN uses cartoonists and their cartoons to lobby
for fellow cartoonists in trouble. In Egypt, twice in Romania and in Panama, CRN
International has produced cartoon booklets for distribution to political and
civil society leaders, asking them to push for the release of editorial
cartoonists who were arrested or charged with crimes. In Romania all illegal
pressure was taken off two editorial cartoonists, in Egypt one cartoonist was
eventually released from prison, and in Panama, proceedings on legal action
against two cartoonists has been suspended. While CRN sometimes cooperates with
other major freedom of expression organizations in these campaigns, we are sure
that the cartoonist's most powerful weapon, his or her cartoons, made a
significant difference in the outcome of these cases.
The International Freedom of Expression Clearinghouse (IFEX) in Toronto,
Canada also supports CRN's field operations with occasional grants for
infrastructure development. These web pages have been in part supported by IFEX
grants from time to time.
Individual editorial cartoonists in Ireland, the US, Canada, Romania and Italy
have all contributed cash gifts to CRN in order for us to continue our human
rights work with editorial cartoonists. In-kind gifts of cartoons for auction
or use in our lobbying documents have come from no less than 20 other countries.
OSI/Ukraine, has sponsored a country wide meeting of cartoonists and
other arts organizations to form under the leadership of CRN's Ukrainian
organization, "NGO Creator" an umbrella organization for arts organizations
dedicated to human rights.
Young, DC : "Cartoons and Cocktails": is the major charity auction event
for editorial cartoons in the US every year CRN is one of three beneficiary
organizations benefiting from the C&C event. This auction takes place at the
National Press Club in Washington, DC, one of the most prestigious venues for
journalism events in the US.
The cartoons auctioned at C&C are exclusively from our roster of cartoonist
clients. Present and former human rights abuse victims, these cartoonists
support CRN by sending in an annual contribution of one of their more recent
cartoons. It is their way of saying, "Thank You, CRN for helping me out of a
difficult situation in a time that my family and I were suffering."
Sale of cartoons: CRN/Eastern Europe has complied a collection of
international cartoons and cartoonists who draw on themes of freedom of
expression and human rights. We have an inventory of over 500 excellent and
powerful cartoons on these subjects. We sell these images to magazines,
collectors and other interested parties, and share the proceeds with the
cartoonist.
The "Art To Die For" archive: The world's only collection of the cartoons
that got them into trouble. CRN International compiles the very images that got
a cartoonist into trouble. We call this our "Art To Die For" archive. This
archive is available for groups to display in their spaces, to build curriculum
sections around and for purchase of sets of copies for collections, museums, and
other art archives.
Others: CRN Eastern Europe is an exciting and noteworthy organization for
its ability to mix and match resources for cartoonists and for CRN in ways very
unexpected and creative. Since it started an annual exhibition of cartoons on
the subject of human rights (now in its third year), CRN Eastern Europe has been
able to generate recourses from a wide mix of predictable and unprecedented
sources.