Description
Across much of the democratic world, debates around free speech, protest, surveillance, citizenship and state power are becoming increasingly common.
Bringing together cultural commentator Myriam Francois, and former South African ambassador and anti-apartheid activist Ebrahim Rasool, this major conversation explores the tensions emerging at the heart of modern liberal democracies.
From securitisation and Islamophobia to selective freedoms and the shrinking space for dissent, the discussion asks whether democratic societies are becoming more fearful, more restrictive and more imbalanced in the way rights and freedoms are experienced, and who ultimately gets to feel truly free.
This event has changed from the original listing.
About the Speakers
Dr Myriam François
Dr Myriam Francois is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and presenter whose work spans television, documentary, and digital media. A former host of The Stream on Al Jazeera English, she now presents the acclaimed current affairs YouTube show The Tea with Myriam Francois. Her documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, and Al Jazeera have been widely praised, and her directorial debut Finding Alaa (BBC/CBC) premiered at Hot Docs and the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, was selected for BAFTA consideration, and won Best Documentary at Flicker Fest 2024. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Oxford and speaks internationally on journalism under fire, civil liberties, feminism, and Islamophobia.
Ebrahim Rasool
Ebrahim Rasool matriculated at Livingstone High and graduated at University of CapeTown with an Arts degree and teaching diploma. He has Honorary Doctorates from both Roosevelt and Chatham Universities in the USA and is a Senior Fellow at both Georgetown and Rutgers Universities. He has recently been appointed as Adjunct Professor of Humanities at the Nelson Mandela University.
He has a long history of leadership in the anti-apartheid struggle, leading student boycotts in 1976 and 1980, then resistance at university, forming Muslim and interfaith movements against apartheid, and culminating in leadership positions in the United Democratic Front and the African National Congress.
He then served as Ambassador to the USA during the Presidency of Barack Obama. Currently, he serves as the Global Ambassador for Humaniti International-Africa advancing development, advocacy and global engagement. His leadership remains influential in governance, diplomacy and social justice worldwide.
About the Chair
Humza Yousaf
Humza Yousaf was the First Minister of Scotland from 2023 to 24, the first Muslim leader of a Western European country and the youngest First Minister in Scotland’s history.
He was appointed as Minister for External Affairs and International Development in 2012, and later served as a Minister for Europe, Minister for Transport, as well as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Health & Social Care. First elected as an MSP for Glasgow in 2011, he was elected in 2016 to serve Glasgow Pollok, becoming the first ethnic minority Member of the Scottish Parliament to be directly elected to a constituency.
After 15 years in politics, including 12 years in government, he has announced his decision to step down from frontline politics in May 2026.
Outside politics, Humza has been involved in community work, from youth organisations to charity fundraising for most of his life. He also volunteered for community radio for 12 years and founded a charitable project providing food packages to homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow.
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