
Malta Foundation invites to a dialogue between Professor Timothy Snyder and the rapper donGURALesko. The concert „Not a word without us” will take place on Liberty Square on 2 June, and it will accompany the online premiere of the audiobook „On tyranny. Twenty lessons from the 20th century”. All this in view of spreading European values of democracy, freedom of speech and civic responsibility among young generations of Poles. The action will be accompanied by debates and the premiere of donGURALesko’s music video „20”.
Poles will be soon celebrating the 15th anniversary of entering the European community, on the 26 May the European Parliament elections will be held, while on 4 July we will have the 30th anniversary of the first partially free elections to the Sejm and the Senate of the Polish Republic. In autumn Poles will be once more voting for their representatives at the Parliament of Poland. All the above offer many opportunities to speak out about the need to vote. „Take responsibility for the image of the world”, „Support good causes”, the lessons given by Timothy Snyder serve as a memento for the modern world. It is a good moment to show how important it is to take part in absolutely every elections.
Malta Foundation invited donGURALesko to prepare a special rap song entitled „20”, which is based on an essay by Professor Snyder „On tyranny. Twenty lessons from the 20th century”, in which the historian characterises the beginnings of totalitarian regimes, their genesis and the accompanying social moods. The song will have a video featuring – apart from donGURALesko – Profesor Snyder himself. The video will premiere on 18 May on Liberty Square during Poznań’s Night of Museums. The rapper also recorded „On tyranny” as an audiobook, which will be made available to download free of charge on the day of the concert.
The social action will have its finale on 2 June at 20:30 on Liberty Square with a concert by donGURALesko and a simultaneous premiere of the „On tyranny. Twenty lessons from the 20th century” audiobook on www.wyborcza.pl and www.malta-festival.pl websites (free download). At the same time a neon reading „Liberty” („Wolność”) will be illuminated on the Arkadia building in Poznań. On 2 June we will also hold a debate at Centrum Kultury Zamek in Poznań entitled „On the need of utopia” with the participation of an expert on Europe Piotr Buras and donGURALesko.
„We’ve involved persons from – seemingly – different backgrounds, speaking in different languages to different people. We want to translate the hugely important teachings of Timothy Snyder into communication with the young generation. On the other hand we wish to learn how they think and perceive the world. We wish to show that we treat each other as equals - even if we read different books and listen to different music, let’s build civic society together”, said Michał Merczyński, the President of Malta Foundation and the originator of the „Not a word without us” action.
Each society bears the consequences of their decisions. Musical lessons of donGURALesko and Snyder aim to remind citizens of all ages that voting is worth it. Let’s stand strong by the professor’s words: „We are free only when we decide ourselves when we are visible, and when we are not visible (…) Vote in local and national elections, while you can.”
Partners of the event: „Gazeta Wyborcza”, Wydawnictwo Znak, Estrada Poznańska, Poznan International Fair, “Tygodnik Powszechny”, CK Zamek, Towarzystwo Kultury Stosowanej. The project is financed by Poznań City Hall, Marshal Office of the Wielkopolska Region in Poznan, as well as the Starost’s Office in Poznan.
The „Not a word without us” project is a part of the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Round Table Talks and free elections in Poland, as well as Liberty and Solidarity Days 1-11 June 2019.
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Follow the action on Instagram.
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Visual identification prepared by Bękarty.
Piotr Bedliński is the author of the photographs from the set of the „20” video, the video has been produced by makemake.