The project is organised by the Goethe-Institut South Africa in partnership with Hear My Voice, the Centre for Creative Arts, the Stand Foundation, General Representation of Flanders, Wallonie-Bruxelles International and Institut Francais Afrique du Sud.
‘Right To Speak’ runs from March to October 2022. It aims to leverage the power of digital to create spaces that enable young poets across oceans to speak, learn and grow together. Additionally, it supports and builds capacity for local organisations for sustained impact.
Poetry will be used as the vehicle to drive conversations around human rights between young people from Europe and South Africa, using various hybrid events and co-productions.
The digital launch took place on Human Rights Day, 21 March as part of the Time of the Writer Festival. This launch was streamed on the official Right To Speak Facebook page.
The launch was hosted by the Center for Creative Arts and was recorded at the Kwa-Muhle Museum in Durban.
Asma Diakité, head of Cultural Programmes at the Goethe-Institut, says, “Right to Speak has been collaboratively conceived by the partners with the vision of creating an opportunity for poets and poetry organisations from South Africa and Europe to share experiences, support mutual learning and to build strong relationships. We seek to create performance opportunities and strengthen capacities in the sector. Our common vision is a creative exchange that inspires future collaborations.”
The Right To Speak project is funded by the European Union National Institutes of Culture as part of the European Spaces of Culture.
