Every year, People in Need gives the Homo Homini award to people who have made an important contribution to promoting human rights, democracy and non-violent resolution of political conflicts.
The award for 2008 went to Liu Xiaobo, an imprisoned Chinese intellectual and dissident, and one of the original signatories of Charter 08 (and to the other signatories).
Liu Xiaobo has been chosen for the Homo Homini in recognition of his comprehensive approach to promoting human rights and his persistent courage in fighting for freedom of speech in China over the last 30 years. Liu Xiaobo belongs to the notable group of Chinese intellectuals that organized Charter 08 and is a prominent figure within China’s growing pro-democracy movement, which has organized itself along the principle of using dialogue to achieve non-violent solutions in the face of unremitting persecution on the part of the government.
Although Liu Xiaobo has been repeatedly imprisoned over the years and has been living under continuous police surveillance, he has never ceased to stand up for his unjustly prosecuted and tortured colleagues. Liu Xiaobo has written and spoken freely about his fervent belief in the universality of human rights and the need for non-violent solutions. In addition, he deserves particular appreciation for his efforts to advocate equal treatment for the inhabitants of Chinese cities and rural areas and for the urgent need for greater environmental protection in China.
“In a moment when our prime minister and our ministers are negotiating with their EU colleagues and Chinese government planned EU – China summit to take place in Prague, we are strongly asking our government to insist on the release of Liu Xiaobo,” stated Simon Panek, a founder and the executive director of People in Need, who was a student leader during the Czech Velvet Revolution. “We will be pleased and honored if EU – China Summit will take place in the Czech Republic and we hope that genius loci of this beautiful historic city could inspire political leaders of EU and great country of China to look for solutions for current financial and economic crisis which affects with hardship and insecurity lives of millions of people in Europe, Asia and around the globe. At the same time, in a year when we are marking the 20th anniversary of the peaceful transition to freedom and democracy in this country and across the region, we could not forget the fate of Chinese dissidents who have done nothing else but expressed publicly their views and peacefully asked for the reasonable dialogue with the government. If the EU – China Summit is to take place in Prague which marks 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution it could take place under more auspicious circumstances and will for sure be more productive, if it will be preceded by the release of Liu Xiaobo,” concluded Mr. Panek.
In December 2008, Liu Xiaobo was detained and transported to an undisclosed location by the Chinese police, where he has remained to date, without any legal proceeding. His arrest occurred two days prior to the 60th anniversary of the UN’s adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The day of the anniversary, a group of Chinese dissidents issued a document, Charter 08, organized in the same spirit as the Czechoslovak Charter 77. Like Charter 77, Charter 08 appeals to the Chinese authorities to be law abiding and demands that political institutions and the Chinese constitution be reformed to ensure basic human rights and democracy. The significance of being able to award the Homo Homini award to an individual who has so clearly embodied the aspirations of the Charter 77 movement at the exact time when the Czech Republic has assumed the presidency of the European Union is not lost on those who have lived through the communist era.
The constitutional and institutional changes being proposed by Charter 08 have the potential to affect the lives of almost a fifth of humanity. Thousands of people who have signed Charter 08 have been persecuted by the Chinese state during the last few months, and thus, have found themselves in a situation quite similar to that of the Czech Chartists over thirty years ago. Therefore, the selection of this year’s recipient of the Homo Homini Award should also be seen as a symbolic gesture towards all of these individuals, who have displayed exceptional bravery and endured great personal risk by becoming signatories to Charter 08.
一、影展簡介
每年四月在布拉格舉辦的「四海一家」國際人權影展常用的英文名稱有兩個，過去慣用「ONE WORLD International Human Rights Film Festival」，今年（2003）的官方網站上則多加了「紀錄片」一詞，成為「ONE WORLD International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival」。其實這個影展一向只放映紀錄片，但過去由於名稱的重心擺在「人權」上，外界常誤以為它也包含劇情片，因此今年在名稱上有了這樣的說明。
本影展是由非營利的「People in Need」基金會所舉辦，目的是透過影片、錄影帶等視聽媒介的力量，加強不同文化之間的瞭解，提升人權意識，並促進全球性的交流。雖然舉辦至今只有5年，但已經成為歐洲最大也最重要的人權影展，以及布拉格每年重要的人文大事之一。
此外，布拉格「四海一家」國際人權影展也已經正式成為European Coordination of Film Festivals (ECFF)成員（目前全歐洲有196個影展加入）。並與14個國際人權或紀錄片影展結盟。
二、組織簡介
布拉格「四海一家」國際人權影展是由People in Need Foundation (PINF)主辦。此基金會成立於1992年，是一個非營利、非官方的組織，其宗旨在於「激勵捷克社會發揮人飢己飢、人溺己溺的精神，並促進全人類的民主自由」，不僅經援如科索夫、波士尼亞等戰亂國家，也以實際人力支援協助醫療與重建，除了獲得捷克外交部的頒獎（1997），也獲得歐美頒發民主公益貢獻獎（1998），以肯定他們的成就。PINF的長期支援來自出資創立這個基金會的捷克電視台（Czech Television），此外包括布拉格市政府、Open Society Fund、Foundation for Civil Society、The Charles S. Mott Foundation、the National Endowment for Democracy等組織的贊助，這些組織也自然成為人權影展的忠實盟友。
由於深曉媒體的力量與文化藝術的永恆性，PINF除了與捷克電視台、電台合作製作節目，讓觀眾瞭解外面的世界需要援手，更在1999年創立了一年一度的「四海一家」國際人權影展（ONE WORLD International Human Rights Film Festival）。影展的名譽主席是前捷克總統哈維爾，影展中也設了一個「哈維爾特別獎」，由專門的評審團從競賽片中挑選一部對人權意識具有貢獻意義的作品，予以獎勵。
8. 評審作品觀摩（Jury member films）：這是許多紀錄片影展的慣例，競賽的評審多為經驗豐富且具相當地位的導演，所以通常會由他們提供代表作，以為觀摩。此單元放映的5部作品包括了加拿大導演Peter Wintonick的《真實電影的變貌》（Cinema Verite）、捷克女導演Olga Sommerova的《喪失尊嚴》（The Loss of Dignity） 、美國導演Carmen Jelincic, Mandy Jacobson的《呼喚鬼魂》（Calling the Ghosts）等。
10. 紀錄經典（Classics of non-fiction film）：這個單元有點像紀錄片發展史一樣，共放映了12部電影史上的經典，例如《北方的南努克》、《柏林交響曲》、《持攝影機的人》、《夜郵》等。
11. 向米蘭馬力斯卡致敬（Tribute to Milan Maryka）：米蘭馬力斯卡歷經捷克的高峰與低潮，他的電影事業也深受政治社會的衝擊，有很長一段時間，他充滿爭議與動力的作品，讓他無法在教育與創作上立足，但他的堅持也獲得高度的敬意。他同時也是PINF的創辦人之一。他在2002年12月去世，本屆影展特地做了一個回顧專題向這位捷克的人權影像鬥士致敬。
12. 歷屆精選（The Best of One World）：這個單元是從過往四屆人權影展中選出14部傑作所構成的回顧專題，也是對人權影展過往成績的一個檢視。
14. 公視精選（Public Service Announcements）：選映六段公共電視製作的影片，僅作一場放映。
15. PINF影片（PINF films）： People in Need Foundation (PINF)除了主辦人權影展，也有計畫性地與捷克媒體合作，拍攝相關紀錄片，本屆影展放映了3部他們最新的製作。
（二）配套活動：包括音樂會、攝影展、研討會等
1. 開幕音樂會： 今年的人權影展開幕典禮，於4月8日晚上7點在Palace Akropolis，以音樂會的型態展開，由DJ Gadjo主持，「Ahmed ma hlad」和「?vihaldo」兩個團擔任表演。
2. 人權獎（Homo Homini Award）：每年人權影展都會頒獎肯定在國際社會中致力於民主、人權及非暴力反抗的人士，本屆的受獎者是3位越南宗教領袖Thich Huyen Quang、Thich Quang Do、Nguyen Van Ly，但是他們都無法出國領獎，而由流亡法國、目前旅居巴黎的越南異議人士、詩人、歷史學家Vo Van Ai代領。
4. 攝影展： 在聖方濟修道院四周的展覽廳，有Jan ibik、Iva Zimova兩位攝影家以「阿富汗」為題的攝影展。法國協會則有Karel Tuma以東斯洛伐克為主題的「In Between the Worlds」攝影展。國家圖書館則展出「反種族歧視得獎海報展」。Aero戲院則有「喚醒公眾意識」的海報展。另外在NOD Roxy也有以「兒童傷害」為主題的攝影展。
（一）捷克最盛大的影展是每年七月初在捷克西境的溫泉小鎮舉辦的卡羅維法利影展（Karlovy Vary International Film Festival），它不僅名列國際製片人協會的「A」級影展之中，甚至被某些影人視為坎城、柏林、威尼斯之後的第四大影展。至於在首都布拉格，每年固定舉辦的影展，包括了一月底的Fabio影展，它有點類似台灣的金馬國際影展，是一個琳瑯滿目的綜合式觀摩影展，在國際上沒什麼重要性與知名度，但卻是布拉格影迷的年初盛事。另外在三月份則有歐洲電影節，大約會有40部左右的影片參展。另外，每年四月底配合布拉格國際書展，也會舉辦一個小型的文學電影展。「四海一家」國際人權影展在放映規模上（戲院數量與觀眾總數）還沒有Fabio影展來得大，但由於本身的特色足夠，立意明確，反而成為布拉格最具國際知名度與代表性的影展。這說明了一個「國際」影展最重要的不見得是影片的參展數量，而是自身的性格與定位。