The programme for the 2011 Festival of Politics has been launched today, and the Scottish Human Rights Commission will be hosting an event looking at human rights and the impact of social media on making human rights 'real', especially given the role of social networking during the recent uprisings in the Middle East.

Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Commission, will be joined by special guests including:

• Ahdaf Soueif, political and cultural commentator and author of the bestselling The Map of Love which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1999.

• Iain Macwhirter, the award-winning political columnist for the Sunday Herald and well known political broadcaster, and also Rector of Edinburgh University.

• Omar Robert Hamilton, an independent film-maker and Producer of the Palestine Festival of Literature, whose photographs have appeared in the Guardian, the Economist, al Shorouq and the BBC. In Cairo during the revolution in early 2011, Hamilton used Twitter to communicate images and reaction on the streets.

'Making human rights real – the impact and influence of social media' takes place in Committee Room 1 at the Scottish Parliament, at 5pm on Saturday 27 August. The discussion will

examine how online and social communication has complimented traditional media in bringing political change to the Middle East, reaching a new generation of human rights activists and engaging people around the world who want to connect with each other on common campaigning issues. In Scotland Twitter, Facebook and blogging are all impacting the way people understand human rights and are helping to energise a new generation of political campaigners. Is social media important in making human rights ‘real’?

You can book tickets in the following ways:

• Online from www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk

• By telephone: 0131 473 2000 (calls via RNID Typetalk: 18001 0131 473 2000)

• By post: to the Festival of Politics, Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh, EH1 2NE.

• In person: The Scottish Parliament or The Hub.

As with previous years, the Festival runs alongside the World Press Photo Exhibition at the Parliament and includes discussions relating to photography and its role in informing and influencing society. Also running throughout the programme is an exploration of how technological and cultural revolutions are influencing politics in an increasingly transparent and interactive world. 

Full details of the festival programme are available from www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk

or follow the Festival: Facebook www.facebook.com/festivalofpolitics and twitter @festofpol

Ahdaf Soueif picture credit: Eamonn McCabe for the Guardian