Promoting human rights in the Mediterranean through young people’s digital and artistic practices
In recent years, economic, political and social conditions in many Mediterranean countries have steadily deteriorated. Younger generations are often marginalized, discredited and absent from the public and decision-making arenas. Faced with these major democratic setbacks, which now call for creative approaches, the artistic community and web content production appear to be a path to be explored to revitalize exchanges around democratic freedoms and values.
The Tae’thir project – influence in Arabic – is the continuation of a long-standing reflection on the evolution of new forms of mobilization and demand for human rights in the Mediterranean. The consortium behind this project – REF, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Instants vidéo numériques et poétiques and the Ligue de l’enseignement des Bouches du Rhône – has been working for years on issues linked to the defense of human rights, the promotion of active citizenship and access to art and culture for all in contexts that are becoming increasingly closed.
During the conceptualization phase of the Tae’thir project, the consortium members called on experts in human rights and/or the artistic and digital world. From this initial consultation, a clear observation emerged: artists and content creators in the MENA region see their capacity for action restricted by the absence of spaces and platforms promoting dialogue and content production.
The Tae’thir project aims to open up spaces conducive to the exchange of ideas and creation, by encouraging the promotion of a culture of human rights in the Mediterranean through the artistic and digital practices of young people. The ability, despite the current context in the Mediterranean region, to collectively aspire to change, and confidence in the power of artists and digital content creators to promote human rights principles, is the beacon of hope around which the Tae’thir project is built. Tae’thir aims to bridge the current divide by bringing together artists, digital content creators, civil society organizations and a wide range of skills to create a common dynamic and build capacity through peer-to-peer exchanges.
The project was launched in September 2023 in Marseille for a period of 3 years. The Ligue des Droits de l’Homme and iReMMO are associate members of this project, financially supported by the Agence française de développement. Project beneficiaries are young artists and web content creators aged between 21 and 35, from the following Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.
In concrete terms, this three-year project will involve 42 young artists and digital influencers from 17 Mediterranean countries in a work cycle based around :
- an online training/reflection cycle on human rights, based on 3 pillars: censorship / patriarchy / critical thinking
- a mentoring and cascade funding process to support the production of 25 digital works and contents
multi-stakeholder workshops in Marseille, enabling exchanges between these artists/influencers and local stakeholders
- presentations of digital works and productions to the general public in France and several other Mediterranean countries.
The first cycle of the Tae’thir project will run from February 2024 to October 2025, ending with the presentation of digital works and productions in Marseille during the Instant Video 2025 Festival.
A first meeting of the Tae’thir Project Advisory Board was held online on October 13, 2023. This multi-stakeholder Advisory Board is made up of resource persons with a good knowledge of the current Mediterranean context and proven expertise on issues of human rights, gender, arts and culture, but also on digital issues and influence.
The call for applications for this first project cycle was launched on October 30, 2023 and closed on December 04, 2023, with the aim of selecting 21 candidates. Application requirements include the proposal of an original artwork or the creation of digital content in resonance with the project’s theme: « What does the human live on? » as an open question and an invitation to explore the complexity of human conditions through the prism of human rights. Eligible forms of work include literary creation, digital content creation, installation and visual art, sound creation, performance, and video installation. The call was issued in English, Arabic and French, attracting a total of 132 applications.
A launch webinar, bringing together participants, the project steering committee and members of the project advisory board, is scheduled for February 22, 2024.
