CIVIL part of worldwide action SPEAK!

Reclaiming freedom! is a multimedia event of CIVIL – Center for Freedom, which includes a flash-mob, a panel discussion, an outdoor art workshop, DJ sets and information stands for the promotion of the global Civic Charter, freedom of expression and human rights.

The street performance, in which young activists of CIVIL will take part, will be held on Friday, September 22, on the Macedonia Square in Skopje, starting at noon exactly. Immediately after that, CIVIL is also organizing a panel discussion on the topic “Reclaiming Freedom”, at the Journalists’ Club, starting at 1:00 pm. Four intellectuals and activists will be speaking about their understanding of the Civic Charter and on the ways of reclaiming human rights and freedoms in society. Participants are invited to take part in the discussion with their views and opinions.

As part of ReClaiming Freedom, on Saturday and Sunday, September 23 and 24, CIVIL will also hold an art workshop in the City Park, starting at 4:00 pm.

Multimedia artist Miroslav Stojanovik, CIVIL member and activist, will provide space for citizens to share messages in a creative way on freedom of expression and human rights. With colors and words, visitors will be able to draw or write their visual or textual messages and speak loudly or in silence about their rights and freedoms.

In the evening hours, these drawings and messages will be relocated to the center of the city, where they will be part of the setting for outdoor fun until 11:00 pm.

With these activities, CIVIL is part of the worldwide campaign SPEAK!, created as a response to the increasing number of attacks on basic human rights and freedoms, while the culture of divisions causes many to turn against each other.

The idea of the campaign is building platforms so that the voices of ordinary people can be heard, creating space for listening and learning from one another, and showing that our freedoms and struggles are mutually connected more than ever before.

The campaign will officially start on Friday, September 22, with “Day of Silence”, when individuals and organizations will choose to keep their own voices silent in solidarity with those who have been silenced against their will, which will also be the leading theme of the street performance in Skopje.

From Saturday to Monday, or, September 23 to September 24, the world will be speaking as one, with hundreds of events that will be taking place throughout the world.

SPAEK! is a result of the vision of  Civicus – World Alliance for Citizen Participation, as part of the Civic Space Initiative.

Key partners include many global organizations, as well as regional, national and local groups from Latin America, Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Europe and North America.

CIVIL – Center for Freedom is the only organization from Macedonia that is joining this global action on human rights and freedoms, and is among the first 50 organizations in the world that have signed the global document Civic Charter. CIVIL has translated and published the Civic Charter into Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Roma, Vlach and Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian language.