Figuring what I needed was even less daylight, I visited Iceland in January. I was there for two weeks, but way too busy to see any of the sights. I played a small part in helping write a parliamentary proposal now called IMMI: the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative. The people of Iceland have been through a lot recently, and as a result some of them appear to be just a tiny weeny bit angry at bankers and financial institutions. So when the banks made an attempt to block the local media from reporting some rather shocking truths (about who ran off with the money), they got even more angry.
The result, among many other things, was a push for stronger legislation protecting journalists, publications, whistleblowers and sources. Some of the people behind Wikileaks and others (such as yours truly) ended up helping a local politician (Birgitta Jónsdóttir) and activists (such as Smári McCarthy) craft a proposal that will hopefully introduce a whole system of laws protecting freedom of expression and freedom of the press. If you have a few minutes to spare, you really want to watch this video about the project…
The proposal has been passed by the Icelandic Parliament (unopposed!), so now the process of actually writing these laws has begun. I will likely continue to be involved with this project and Icelandic politics. It’s a fascinating country inhabited by equally fascinating people, and I have only just begun to scratch the surface.
If only we can do the same over here..