See images from the 2007 Index on Censorship, Freedom of Expression Awards here

Read The Observer review of Index on Censorship: Slavery 2007 The truth of human bondage, Rafael Behr

Index on Censorship is the only magazine devoted to protecting and promoting free expression. International in outlook, outspoken in comment, publishing some of the world's finest writers, Index exposes stories that are suppressed, publishes banned writing, initiates debate and gives breadth to news that has often been dumbed down in the world's media. In addition, every issue of Index since its inception has included a 30-page, country by country index recording violations of free speech. These lists remain as extensive today as when the magazine was founded 33 years ago, and are a trenchant reminder that continuing vigilance is essential. Subscribe Online now.

Index was first published in 1972, in response to show trials in Moscow. The idea behind the magazine was to make public the circumstances of those who are silenced in their own countries, wherever that may be, and to publish their work. Since the end of communism, and with an increasingly fragmented world, new and troubling questions have surfaced, some of them challenging the primacy of free expression itself: religious extremism, relative values and cultural difference, the rise of nationalism, the rewriting of history, hate speech, pornography, violence on television, freedom on the Internet are just some of them. And we are concerned not just with official censorship, but with any form of silencing, whoever is doing it.

We welcome contributions from anyone concerned with issues of free speech. Our articles range widely from essays to opinion pieces, from oral testimony to fiction and poetry. Index is a magazine of record, but we also publish articles intended to promote debate. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the editors, the publisher, or the editorial board.

Other Activities

Index on Censorship is closely associated with the charitable work of Writers and Scholars Educational Trust (Charity Reg. 325003) whose mission is to:

• Monitor all kinds and occasions of censorship
• Help free the lives and publish the works of victims of censorship
• Educate societies in the importance of free expression
• Ensure that international standards of free expression are applied to all forms of communication

Through media training and development projects, Index and Writers and Scholars support local journalists and help build capacity in transitional and post conflict countries such as Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. These multi-media, multi-disciplinary projects include: needs assessment, training, network building, advocacy and recommendations for national media law reforms and structures.

www.indexonline.org is a primary source for free expression news. It provides online updates on violations of free expression and hosts the latest debates and news analysis. Already one of the most visited human rights websites, it is soon to become the centre of a network breaking new ground in web news services and censor-proof multi-lingual web resources for free speech groups.

Index on Censorship and Writers and Scholars Educational Trust's activities are based on frameworks and models. Index on Censorship magazine acts as a model and reference point for similar projects in different languages or media whether in print, as web page or as teaching resource.