Democracy Café
SHARE YOUR IDEAS
AND HEAR NEW ONES
Democracy Cafés are public debates on democracy and human rights related topics.
The idea of organising these debates spawned from the fact that during our exhibitions and design workshops around the world we had the opportunity to meet a lot of people interested in promoting human rights and the democratic discourse, often directly involved in local level projects.
Our activities acted as a natural magnet for them, but we no tools to make something of their presence and interest.
It came natural to us to give them a time and space where to interact and be exposed to a larger public, something impossible in an exhibition environment and limited only to a small group of people when in a workshop setting.
What we did so far
The first series of Democracy Cafes was held in 2012. These debates were led through the help of the images from our contests, to give a base for discussion and help participants to find a way to express their feelings and ideas.
We started at Sarajevo Film Festival, and then touched Skopje Deign Week, Islamabad, Mumbai, Barcelona, Sofia, Athens and Madrid.
The second series of Democracy Cafes. in 2013, began in Bosnia-Herzegovina and touched Tunisia, Ukraine, Spain, Mexico, Chile and Germany.
What’s on for 2014
This year we are starting a new tour of Democracy Cafés. The first one will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 4 April. We plan to have 8 in total.
Democracy Cafés are meant to be an open platform. We make our best to spread this initiative, hoping that it may be picked up by like-minded people around the world. In case you would like to organise one in your city, please get in touch with us.
Ongoing Projects
We Stand With Ukraine
There is little that we can say about the horrendous situation in Ukraine that might make a difference. But we hope there is something that we can do to help.
To show our...
Free Patrick Zaki
The call for entries to “Free Patrick Zaki, prisoner of conscience”, a special edition of Poster For Tomorrow, will be open from 8 to 28 January. The competition is...
FAKE NEWS!
Fake news might feel like a recent development that has only come to prominence since the election of one politician who shall not be named, but the practice of spreading...
FAKE NEWS!
Fake news might feel like a recent development that has only come to prominence since the election of one politician who shall not be named, but the practice of spreading rumours and misinformation is as old as the printed word.
People have always twisted the truth, or simply told lies, to get what they want (or change the world). But now we have the ability to share information faster and wider than ever before. It used to be only a few media outlets or government sources that could shape public thought, but now everyone can.
And unlike the media or government, none of us are held accountable for what we post. As there are few laws or fines that can be thrown at us for posting lies, there is no incentive to act responsibly in the public sphere. Get likes (or votes) first, worry about potential consequences later. If the self-styled leader of the free world can’t be held to account for regularly tweeting and spreading blatant untruths, then what stops everybody else from doing the same?