State Library Victoria has cancelled a series of writing events out of concerns over “child and cultural safety”, leaving some of the participants demanding an explanation.
The free annual writing bootcamps for teenagers, covering fiction, nonfiction, playwriting and poetry, were pulled suddenly from the library’s program last week, and in one writer’s case, just 24 hours before he was due to hold one of his teaching sessions.
Award-winning poet Omar Sakr received an email from the library on 28 February informing him his writing workshops, the first of which was to have taken place on 1 March, would not go ahead.
“We have a duty of care to ensure the highest levels of child and cultural safety are in place for all participants, artists and facilitators in our programs, and we take this very seriously,” the email said.
“At a time of heightened sensitivities, we believe it is important to conduct this review carefully and thoroughly and take the time needed to make sure that the design and implementation guidelines for programs remain appropriate.”
When Sakr asked the library for more details about what child and cultural safety issues had arisen that had not been extant in previous years, and whether his workshops had been postponed or cancelled, he was told “the new contract would make it clear”.
On 1 March he received a document from the library’s finance department titled “agreement to terminate”.
“Due to circumstances which were not apparent at the time of entering into the contract, the library has decided not to proceed with the program from February to June 2024,” the new contract stated.
He would be paid in recognition of preparatory work he had already made, the contract said, with one of the provisos being that “the author agrees not to make any claim or demand that the library must do something, or must not do something, in connection with the contract or the program.”
Two other writers Guardian Australia spoke to, young adult author Alison Evans and journalist Jinghua Qian, had also had their contracts with the library terminated.
All three say the library has refused to provide any further explanation despite repeated requests, leaving them to speculate as to whether the cancellations are related to their vocal support of the Palestinian people in recent months.
“Just on the basis of the cancellations that have occurred lately against those of us who have dared call for a ceasefire, I would say there has been pressure – that’s my speculation, but I don’t actually know,” said Sakr, who posts pro-Palestinian messages on social media regularly.
“I’m not comfortable with the seriousness and the vagueness of their ‘child and cultural safety’ phrase. Invoking the safety of the student participants in the program implies that at least one of us is dangerous.
“I’ve never seen a program cut without explanation, and then been flat-out ignored like this.”
Evans, who has signed multiple petitions over the Gaza conflict and reposted pro-Palestinian messages on Instagram and X (Twitter), said they emailed the library to ask for more details about the termination of their contract but had only received an equally vague statement in response.
“I think it’s very easy to speculate, but I just don’t know, it’s very unclear why they’ve made this decision,” they said.
Qian, who is a vocal member of the media union MEAA’s Members for Palestine group and is one of the organisers of this Friday’s rallies across multiple cities protesting against the sacking of Antoinette Lattouf, said the introductory session they conducted with Evans in February attracted more than 80 teenagers.
“I can say that I don’t think the cancellations are due to child safety issues,” they said. “It’s a program that’s been running at least three years.”
Despite Guardian Australia informing the library that it had a copy of Sakr’s termination contract, a spokesperson said the young writer’s bootcamp had been deferred, not cancelled, saying it was “due to changes in the external environment” and the need to ensure “the highest levels of child and cultural safety are in place”.
The spokesperson declined to provide more details on what the library saw as changes to the external environment and the child and cultural safety issues that were being reviewed.
