Chris Gribble: ‘The depth of commitment of individuals, organisations, and cities to making a difference, to making the world better, never dims’

When Chris Gribble started his position as Chief Executive of the National Centre for Writing in Norwich in 2006, a colleague immediately connected him to the ICORN Network, starting Gribble’s long ICORN journey. In 2007, Norwich became an ICORN City of Refuge and a year later Chris joined the Board as a Member.  

Below is an interview with ICORN’s outgoing Chair of Board Chris Gribble:

ICORN: What was your first meeting with ICORN – and your thoughts?

Chris Gribble: When I first met the network team and city partners, I was hugely impressed by the vision for the organisation and, of course, the urgency of the need for its work. I saw a small(ish) group of cities – at the time – working really hard to make a difference on the world stage, and I immediately ‘felt’ the rightness and importance of the work and wanted to be part of it. I also thought ‘gosh, this is going to be hard because there is such need out there and only a small network to try and meet it’! My fear was true then and now, but the joy of the network is that its members and secretariat never let that fear overwhelm them; they carry on doing what they do and expanding the reach of the network so more writers and artists can find places of safety from which to carry on working and defending freedom of expression.

ICORN: When and how did Norwich engage in ICORN?

Chris Gribble: We became a member in 2007, I think and hosted two writers from 2008-2010 – and then our government changed, and it became much, much harder for writers and artists at risk to enter the UK and find support over long periods here. Since that point, we have been active at Board and strategic levels to support ICORN’s work through the network and Secretariat.

ICORN: How have you seen ICORN develop and change in the past 10 years?

Chris Gribble: ICORN has grown, professionalised, become part of the international freedom of expression ecology and a mature organisation with a confident and clear vision and mission over recent years. It has faced all sorts of challenges – from pandemics to funding shortages – and has met those challenges and thrived.

ICORN: What have been your main priorities as the Chair of the Board over the past 7 years?

Chris Gribble: I think my main priorities were threefold: firstly, to tighten and professionalise the governance of ICORN so that it could deliver its vision and mission. Secondly, to work towards financial stability and resilience so that we could plan for longer term growth and greater impact. Finally, over recent years, our focus has, of course, been on managing the impact of the pandemic and how it changed so much for the artists, writers, members, and stakeholders with whom we work. The Covid crisis brought us all sorts of challenges and those impacts will likely be felt for some time yet.

ICORN: What has been your favourite part of your work with ICORN?

Chris Gribble: I think the knowledge and evidence of making a difference in the lives of writers and artists (and their families) has been the overriding joy of working with ICORN. Seeing what sometimes felt like an impossible task become a reality and to see it thriving has been a joy and a privilege. I love bringing people and organisations together – to make change, to make things happen, to make the world better millimetre by millimetre and working with ICORN enabled me to be part of these things in the world of writing and freedom of expression.

ICORN: What has been most challenging?

Chris Gribble: Gosh. Well, the ongoing question of ‘ok, we have found places for this writer/artist and their family for two years, but what will happen next?’ is the question that hovers around all our work. There’s no perfect answer, but the sheer need to find varying and different answers is the ever-present challenge of working within the network. Also, on a more prosaic level, trying to support and manage a board of diverse interests across many countries while holding down a full-time job here in Norwich has not always been easy. Finding ways for everyone to be heard, while supporting the decisions of the Board, Secretariat and the General Assembly has been a balancing act that I’ve sometimes got right and sometimes got wrong.

ICORN: In your opinion, why is it important to give refuge to writers, artists, and journalists specifically?

Chris Gribble: I could write a ten-page answer to this! In short, stories are machines for changing people’s minds, for creating the conditions to make the world a better place – and the artists, writers and journalists who are on the frontlines where freedom of expression is under threat have the most powerful stories to tell. In protecting them, we protect the most cherished parts of our democratic world and ourselves too.

ICORN: ICORN believes that cities play a significant role in defending and promoting freedom of expression. In what way have you seen this happen during your work with ICORN?

Chris Gribble: Cities are able to ally themselves to sets of values and commitments in dextrous and agile ways that sometimes whole countries and states find hard. Cities are like the poles that hold up the electricity cables that connect us and provide light – they are a network of semi-autonomous creations that are big enough to group together to make a difference, and small enough to avoid the paralysis of national and international governance restrictions. They can express the vision of their citizens beyond the pressures of national statecraft.

ICORN: What or who has left the biggest impression on you and why?

Chris Gribble: I don’t know if I can answer this question without resorting to cliché! I’ve met so many writers and artists who have moved me, inspired me, and educated me that they are the ones who will stay with me and to single anyone out wouldn’t feel very fair or honest. I think the deepest impression I leave with is the simultaneous knowledge that however grim things look in world politics, the depth of commitment of individuals, organisations, and cities to making a difference, to making the world better, never dims.

ICORN: Where do you see ICORN in 10 years?

Chris Gribble: I hope that there will be 300 ICORN cities at least in ten years’ time! I’d like to see network hubs across Europe and Cities in the network from every continent! More critically, I hope that the partnerships and commitment that hold the network together remain strong in the face of whatever challenges will come.

ICORN: What new future adventures will you embark on and what experiences from your time in ICORN will you bring with you?

Chris Gribble: I’m going to keep in touch with ICORN as part of its Election Committee so won’t be cutting all my ties now, I’m no longer Chair! I’ll take so much from my time with ICORN – the solidarity, the belief in freedom of expression as an inalienable human right worth fighting for, the knowledge that diversity and difference are necessary and vital; the understanding that doing something is always better than doing nothing; the friendships and the satisfaction of helping make a difference. That’s a lot to take away. I’ve been so proud to be part of ICORN’s story and have so much to thank the network for – to thank the secretariat, the cities, the writers and artists, the funders, and partners for – that it’s hard to know where to start! I will take it all forward to me to the next part of my life and the lessons I’ve learned will, I hope, help me make a difference, which is pretty much the best thing we can do with our lives after all…

The ICORN Network and Secretariat thank Chris Gribble for the years of hard work and dedication and wish him the best in his future endeavours. ICORN welcomes its new Acting Chair of Board Annika Strömberg who will be in the position until a permanent Chair is elected at the 2024 ICORN General Assembly.

‍