Hundreds of young people discuss freedom during Four Freedoms Meet-up
Actor Joenoes Polnaija, writer Wilma Geldof and climate activist Hannah Prins will be guests on Tuesday 8 April at the Stadsschouwburg in Middelburg.
On Tuesday April 8th, the Vrijheidcolleges and the Roosevelt Foundation will host the Four Freedoms Meet-up for the fifth time. Young people will discuss freedom with renowned Dutch Freedom Speakers. This year, the Meet-up will take place at the theatre in Middelburg.
Freedom Speakers
How do pupils and students perceive freedom past and present and in their future? This will be explored during the Four Freedoms Meet-up with various Freedom Speakers: actor, musician and theatre maker Joenoes Polnaija, Vote for a Woman founder Devika Partiman, writer Wilma Geldof, philosopher and spoken word artist Lev Avitan, climate activist Hannah Prins and theatre maker Abdulaal Hussein.
Meeting and conversation
The Four Freedoms Meet-up, focuses on the power of personal meeting and conversation. Participants are led in small groups through various program components like mini-lectures, workshops, master classes, spoken word presentations and assignments.
80 years of freedom
This year, 80 years of freedom in the Netherlands is the starting point for the Meet-up. This theme highlights various themes from past to future. For example democracy, security, equal opportunities and women’s rights.
About the Four Freedoms of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
On January 6, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered the State of the Union in Washington, the annual ‘throne speech’ in the United States. His speech went down in history as the Four Freedoms speech. Roosevelt formulated four freedoms that should apply to everyone in the world and that are still relevant today: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
Sign-up
The Four Freedoms Meet-up will take place on Tuesday afternoon, April 8th from 12:30 to 4:30 in the theater in Middelburg. Schools that wish to participate in the Four Freedoms can sign up free of charge at lisanne@vrijheidscolleges.nl.
About the Roosevelt Foundation
The Roosevelt Foundation was founded in 1982 to organize the Four Freedoms Awards ceremony in even years. During the ceremony, the Four Freedoms Awards are presented in the Nieuwe Kerk in Middelburg. People or organizations that are committed to the four freedoms receive an award. To make this philosophy more appealing to young people, the Four Freedoms Meet-up is organized every year.
About Stichting Vrijheidscolleges
Since 2013, Stichting Vrijheidscolleges has created programs about life in war and conflict, democracy and the rule of law. It connects these with well-known speakers to current themes that interests a young and diverse audience. Stichting Vrijheidscolleges visits locations throughout the country, such as theaters, libraries and festivals. Stichting Vrijheidscolleges organizes more than 50 programs each year, reaching an audience of average 10,000 people.
