Exploring the Congress 2025 theme of Reframing Togetherness', current and previous PEN writers in residence at George Brown College (GBC) joined Communications professor, and panel moderator, Paula Applebaum for a thought-provoking discussion on what the successful promotion of freedom of expression looks like today.
Tala Motazedi, a queer screenwriter, novelist, and playwright from Iran was joined by Luis Nájera, an investigative journalist and crime analyst originally from Mexico, and Professor Gordana Icevska, an investigative journalist and educator from Macedonia. All three writers have served as GBC writers in residence.
Tips to spark classroom conversation on sensitive topics including AI, democracy, censorship and human rights.
Luis Nájera began the discussion with anecdotes from his career studying and writing about organized crime. Police ride-alongs in a city with over 500 street gangs provided him with a grounding in firsthand reporting, bearing witness, and bringing expertise into practical action. Nájera uses famous historical images to teach about censorship. When he once shared an image of Tiananmen Square in class, he was moved to hear from a student who had been present at the 1989 incident as a child and had never seen the image before.
PEN writer in residence, Tala Motazedi offered poignant reflections of her journey as a queer artist living under dictatorship to being able to embrace her true identity here in Canada. Having experienced a "censored mind" in her home country, Motazedi characterized her time at the college as a healing process where opposing views can be heard. Motazedi emphasized approaching conversations with curiosity and respect.
Seasoned journalist and GBC professor, Gordana Icevska, highlighted the narrowing of points of view in today's media landscape, saying, "They are serving us information that is like-minded and all from the same point of view. Synthetic media is the biggest enemy with AI images becoming unnoticeable." To make the power of AI clear to her students, she tasks them with creating their own news stories using deep fakes to demonstrate just how convincing and impactful they can be. Icevska stressed that we need to teach AI literacy beyond media literacy and "know it as a friend not a foe."
The discussion closed with reflections on the power of the human experience and how it cannot be effectively captured through AI. Nájera emphasized that "teachers want to fascinate to create engagement." Congress 2025 offers opportunities to engage with new ideas and techniques through discussions with academics from across the country. The national conference continues through Friday, June 6 at George Brown College's St. James and Waterfront campuses.
(Left to right) PEN Canada Board Member Ira Wells, moderator and GBC Communications professor Paula Applebaum, former PEN Writers in Residence Luis Nájera and Tala Motazedi, event champion and GBC professor Annika Hannan, former PEN Writer in Residence and Professor Gordana Icevska, and PEN Canada President Grace Westcott.
About the George Brown College PEN Canada Writer in Residence Program
George Brown College is a proud partner of PEN Canada and its Centre for Preparatory & Liberal Studies has hosted a PEN writer in residence for 20 years. The program has hosted writers from 11 countries to date, and impacted thousands of students through its focus on classroom discourse. Professor Applebaum, who serves as the liaison for the program, noted the impact of the program on college learners, "Fifty percent of the writer in residence's time is spent in the classroom with the other fifty devoted to personal projects. Our writers in residence have directly connected with thousands of students."
About PEN Canada
Founded in 1983, PEN Canada is a nonpartisan organization of writers and readers. We fight censorship, help free persecuted writers from prison, assist exiled writers who live in Canada, and promote literature.
Writers are central to PEN. Around the world, we advocate for writers who are persecuted, imprisoned and tortured for expressing themselves. We call for their release, create pathways to freedom and safety, and offer emergency relief. And for those that make it to Canada and seek amnesty, we offer support to immigrant writers the writers in exile.
Learn more at pencanada.ca
Acknowledgements: The PEN Writer in Residence session was organized by the Congress 2025 Programming Committee with Professor Annika Hannan acting as event champion. Thank you to the George Brown College Office of the President, Associate Dean Alexandra Maclennan, PEN Canada President Grace Westcott and Board Member Ira Wells for their support of this panel.
