Publisert med forbehold om endringer under fremførelsen.

Dear friends, distinguished guests,

Expression has many forms. And attempts to limit our freedoms come from many directions.

One form of expression is how we choose to wear our hair.

I myself am an example of this. My haircut is perfectly adapted to the role of president of parliament. It offends no one; on the contrary, it is designed to unite. No one need feel anxious if they meet me without my hat.

I don’t sport a beard though. In several places around the world my beardlessness would be an unmistakable statement. Impossible to misconstrue.

In just the same way as wearing a small black moustache was a powerful political message here in Europe 75 years ago.

The things we express are not simply private matters, whether the spoken word, the visual image, music … or our hairstyle. What we express in the public domain is the very lifeblood of a democratic society. Which is why the right to express ourselves is the most important one of all. Without it, all our other fundamental human rights are lost.

It’s a great privilege for me to address such a distinguished gathering. On such an important topic.

Each and every one of us here has been a small baby, some point between the ages of one and two, tottering on the threshold of the talking world.

As adults we have witnessed the frustration and despair of these toddlers; so full of ideas, desires and needs, yet incapable of conveying them. And we have also seen the triumph in their eyes when they finally succeed.

This fundamental human need: the need to express ourselves in accord with the world around us, to show that we matter. It’s about human dignity; the very essence of human development and coexistence.

Words have power. Words set free. They can change the world. The dreams of Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Nelson Mandela inspired millions of people.

Words have always had the power to touch hearts, to lift up ideals and to move boundaries. Be it the written word, speeches, music, songs, images – or something else altogether.

And it is for this very reason that they are viewed as a threat by those who oppose change to the established order. Those in power who cannot resist the temptation to suppress and limit the right to criticize authority and build opposition.

We must accept that people and cultures have differing limits for what they see as an infringement of their moral boundaries. An essential premise for human coexistence is that we show consideration and respect for one another.

What we must never tolerate, however, is governments and rulers that protect their power by depriving others of the fundamental right to express views and criticism.

For it is in the criticism of power that free speech is at its most forceful and valuable. Time and again, history has shown us that the attempt to suppress or halt dissenting voices by force does not succeed. Not over time.

Words are like water. The powers that be may try to dam them up, to build barriers. But sooner or later the dam will burst, or the water will find an alternative route.

In the world of the word, this may take on countless different forms.

The court jester has entertained people for centuries. But he’s never been harmless. Music blazes trails, images and drawings provoke action and challenge our preconceptions, and jokes expose power and lies.

And hairstyles can either threaten morality or please our surroundings. Sometimes both. Sometimes neither.

I know that many of you in this room use a knowledge about the codes and conventions in which you operate to challenge authority and power via the many different channels and forms of expression you represent.

Yet the defence of freedom of speech goes hand in hand with the responsibility to listen with interest and tolerance. It is the two combined that creates the climate in which freedom of expression can flourish.

The assembly gathered here today is a complex and composite bunch. What many of you have in common is that you have stretched the limits of freedom of speech. You have a talent for expressing yourselves. But right now what I’m most interested to find out – as we prepare to eat dinner together – is whether you are also talented listeners.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we will soon be sharing a meal together. Let us make the most of this opportunity to listen with extra attentiveness this evening. Let us turn towards someone we don’t know, someone we think we can learn something new from. Let us listen to what they have to say. And let us hope that it leads us to expanding our own horizons, our own tolerance. If only a little.

Thank you.