Poster of Valencian designers human rights © Boke Bazán
In 2005, Amnesty International collaborated together with some of the best Spanish graphic designers in order to make illustrations for every one of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The result of said collaboration was a book called La letra y la imagen de los derechos humanos (“Words and Pictures of Human Rights”) but also a poster exhibition in La Nau Cultural Centre, thanks to the support of the Universitat de València.
More than a decade later, since this first initiative succeeded so well, Amnesty International and the Universitat de València have decided to launch a completely new second edition of this exhibition within the frame of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration and the 40th anniversary of Amnesty International Spain, both of which are celebrated in 2018.
Designer Boke Bazán is the curator of this exhibition, called “Valencian creators for human rights. 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. It tries to gather top-tier Valencian graphic designers: fourteen women and sixteen men, some of which like Mariscal, Pepe Gimeno or Dani Nebot have already participated on the first edition. Altogether, the graphic works make an interpretation of human dignity principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from their own point of view and at the same time try to show a full-of-hope gaze and to raise awareness.
Amnesty International has always tried to do so since its beginning. We are an international movement made out of normal people who take injustice as something personal. We fight so that everyone can have human rights, and a part of that fight is to raise awareness on defending the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, after 70 years, might be in danger because of regressive political trends, hate speech and demonization of those who are leading the present world.
And these leaders are precisely those who should protect the rights that they are ironically taking from people. Leaders who normalise large-scale discrimination to minorities. Leaders who altogether show a lack of human rights defence leading skills.
Opposing them, opposing fear, there are protest movements that choose not to be quiet, that demand justice, dignity. This can be felt all around the world: from Chile to Taiwan, from Nigeria to the US or Europe. Enterprises like this are more or less a part of these movements that speak out mightier and more clearly.
Amnesty International Spain has wanted to be one of those voices since it was legalised in 1978, within the Spanish transition to democracy, seventeen years after its birth in UK. During this time we have become a reference in human rights for the country. We have proceeded with absolute independence of any economical or political power and we have, among others, contributed to death penalty abolition in more than 141 countries, to putting into operation the International Criminal Court in 2002 or also to the enforcement of the Arms Trade Treaty in 2014, after decades of work, which forbids arms trade when they could be used for human rights violation.
Currently, Amnesty International has the support of more than 7 million people around the world. Only in Spain around 85 000 people are associated to the organisation, 2 400 people are contributing activists and more than half a million collaborate by regularly signing our petitions. Thanks to this support, we will continue working so that Spain makes an amendment to the main human rights problems that stain the clear progress made in the past decades.
There is much work to be done. Spain is not a suitable place for fostering and protection of refugees. Gender-based violence remains an issue. The rights to housing and health must be considered human rights. Free speech is in danger. And this country can help more and better in order to make the world a better place.
From Amnesty International we want to thank selfless collaboration of the graphic designers that took part in this and all the support of the Universitat de València. Without them this initiative could not have been possible.
Arancha Vicario Laguna
President of Amnesty International Spain
27 November 2018
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