Facing pressure from authorities since their inception, the group nonetheless thrived underground, performing in apartments, basements and forests despite continued arrests and brutal interrogations. In 2011, while on tour, they were told they were unable to return home. Refusing to be silenced, the group set up headquarters in London and continued to direct projects in Belarus.

In this anniversary year, the group staged a solidarity concert watched by over half a million people online, mounted a two week retrospective and launched the Ministry of Counterculture, an online platform aiming to widen the understanding of art’s role in affecting social change.

“The very existence of BFT is a challenge to the repression and injustice of the dictatorship in Belarus.” — Natalia Kaliada, co-founder Belarus Free Theatre

Full profile: Belarus Free Theatre battles censorship and oppression by the Belarusian regime

The banning of the show, and Bruguera’s subsequent detention, caused an international outcry and sparked a worldwide solidarity movement for free expression in Cuba. Leading venues and artists around the world have been re-staging #YoTambienExijo all year, drawing attention to the ongoing persecution of artists in Cuba. Bruguera estimates that over 20,000 Cubans have been involved in the project to date.

“I truly believe that in totalitarian regimes like Cuba, art has the privilege to open doors. It can serve as an escape from fear and from a life of lies.” — Tania Bruguera, founder #YoTambienExijo

Full profile: Tania Bruguera’s #YoTambienExijo ignites a worldwide movement

Founders Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, two young British playwrights, came up with the idea after working in the camp as volunteers: “We were struck by everyone’s willingness to tell their story. In many cases this willingness was a need.”

Good Chance offers a safe place where refugees can express themselves, share their stories, and come together as a community. Backed by some of the biggest names in British theatre, Good Chance looks set to continue touching the lives of some of those most in need.

“We are here for 6000 unacknowledged people, each of whom have an individual voice. Our duty is to those voices, as it is those voices that will help deepen and complicate our understanding of this refugee crisis.” — Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, co-founders Good Chance Theatre

Full profile: Good Chance Theatre gives refugees a place to be heard

Ever since then, Al-Singace has felt the brunt of the practices against which he has spent his life campaigning. In prison he has not been silenced despite being verbally and physically abused, sexually assaulted and kept in solitary confinement for months on end. He has also been denied access to medication, his family, and even pens and paper. In March last year, Al-Singace began a 313 day hunger strike in protest at the collective punishment and acts of torture that police inflicted upon prisoners. He is still being held.

“Be careful when you use the words ‘change’, ‘dream’ and ‘democracy’. Those things don’t come so easily to us here in Bahrain.” — Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace

Full profile: Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace has not let prison silence him

Starting when she was 16 and still at school, Berhe has since given a speech in front of the Pope, launched petitions, utilised social media, video and web platforms and orchestrated protests in order to spread her message. Born in Sweden to Eritrean parents and currently studying in the USA, Berhe has taken the plight of this small country to the world stage.

“With one man’s name and story, we aim to dismantle the cover that has been hiding the oppression that has ravaged the Eritrean people for years.” — Vanessa Berhe, founder One Day Seyoum

Full profile: Vanessa Berhe is fighting for freedom of expression in Eritrea

The all-women management team have launched internet freedom programmes, published research papers, tirelessly fought for government transparency and run numerous innovative digital security training programmes.

In 2015 the group turned their attention to the draconian Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill, organising an extraordinary campaign of events, lobbying, press conferences and online actions. They brought international attention to a landmark bill that would otherwise have been pushed through with little public attention.

“This case alone could change everything for free speech in Pakistan.” — Farieha Aziz, co-director Bolo Bhi

Full profile: Bolo Bhi campaigns against attempts to censor the internet in Pakistan

Using a variety of tools, the organisation tracks China’s censorship infrastructure, hosts mirror sites to make censored material available and, in March 2015, launched an app that allows users to browse the officially forbidden web. Previously, the group created FreeWeibo, an uncensored version of the Chinese social platform. Despite ‘the Great Cannon’, a major cyber-attack by Chinese authorities in 2015, GreatFire has continued the fight for online freedom.

“Our goal is to bring transparency to online censorship in China.” — GreatFire

Full profile: GreatFire campaigns for transparency of China’s censorship

With autonomous local branches in Egypt, Mexico, India, Africa and China, they’ve now had over 100 million page views since their inception in 2009. Between organising a comedy gig about sexual health in Cairo, music awards for songs about sexuality in Kenya and campaigning against partner violence in India, their impact has been huge. The very act of reading their content can put you in grave danger in some of the countries they call home.

“Access to good information on sexual and reproductive health is a human right – but one which is often thwarted in many countries.” — Vithika Yadav, founder Love Matters India

Full profile: Love Matters opens up conversations about sexual health

Erhaim has trained hundreds of journalists, many of them women, and set up independent media outlets to deliver news from one of the world’s most dangerous places. In 2015 Erhaim filmed a groundbreaking documentary, Syria’s Rebellious Women, to tell the stories of women who are helping her country survive its darkest hour.

“In 10 years time, I want a young woman who looks on the internet to find out what happened in Syria to find evidence of the roles women played.” — Zaina Erhaim

Full profile: Zaina Erhaim trains Syrian women to report on the war

Despite the high-profile arrest of one of its journalists in 2015, Mada Masr continues to grow, recently developing a network of citizen journalists to cover news from Egypt’s governorates. Through innovative fundraising it has managed to remain financially independent.

“I want us, down the line, many many years to come, to be a reference of what happened.” — Lina Attalah, chief editor Mada Masr

The past year has been one of the hardest yet for Mir following an assassination attempt in 2014 in which he was shot six times and left for dead. He returned to work as soon as he left the hospital, but is confined to a life under armed-guard without his family who have been sent abroad for their safety.

“It’s very dangerous and risky to stay in Pakistan, but I am doing it only because majority of common people are with me.” — Hamid Mir

We are delighted to announce the inaugural Music in Exile fellow is Burkinabe rapper and producer Serge Martin Bambara aka Smockey.

An icon of democracy in Burkina Faso, Smockey is an artist, music producer and political activist who fuses hip-hop with traditional local sounds and satire. His acclaimed Studio Abazon was fire-bombed in late 2015. The attack was an apparent attempt on his life as revenge for the role his music and activism played in the deposition of President Blaise Compaoré.

“Not everyone is lucky enough to have a microphone in front of them, so if you have the chance to talk, you have to say something important” – Smockey

Full profile: Serge Bambara’s music combines rap and satire to “spread truth” in Burkina Faso