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The Conversation
The Conversation
Sarah Polkinghorne, Research Fellow, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University

The State Library of Victoria controversy shows what can happen when institutions cling to ‘neutrality’

La Trobe Reading Room, State Library of Victoria. Oriane Perrin/Shutterstock

For months now, the State Library of Victoria’s official explanation for the “postponement” of its Teen Writing Bootcamp workshops has been the need to ensure safety for all involved.

The bootcamps benefit youth across the country. The State Library hires writers with diverse expertise and experiences to teach them. In March, authors Omar Sakr, Alison Evans and Jinghua Qian, all of whom have all been vocal critics of Israel’s war in Gaza, were taken aback when they were informed their workshops had been cancelled, a week before they were due to give them.

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