It’s here!
Our new campaign I have been mentioning for some time has arrived and I am very proud of it. Inspire Freedom Campaign. We have been working on developing the concept, branding, messaging and designing it for more than six months. Ideas and insights were falling in place like pieces of a puzzle and brought us to this point finally.
Inspire Freedom summarizes our work for women’s rights. It opens doors for grass root activities, awareness raising and advocacy work. Each part of it is thought through, supports the other parts and bears a great meaning on its own.
It is designed for everyone. Big and small, few or many. It suggests concrete activities and leaves space for your creativity and adjustments to your conditions.
The uniting principles are that we do it all together, we do it everywhere and that everyone can do it.
We have produced a Community Action Guide that introduces the main pillars of the campaign, suggests concrete actions and provides background facts. I will not go deep into each section as it is just to click here and take alook into the Guide but I will tell a bit more about the meaning of each part.
The Magic Drink is at the moment the one part that excites me the most.
As we all know very well that it is not the ethanol in alcoholic beverages that makes people to heroes with extra powers and enhanced social skills, the alcohol industry anyway managed to make many people believe so.
We are going to take the real magic back and claim the word “drink” back as well. Prepare your drinks. Mix and shake and decorate, enjoy it and share it.
I can’t wait for the day when many types of alcohol-free drinks will be available in bars and restaurants and will be marked by the Magic Drink drink logo to be easily recognised.
If you are in need of inspiration, check out the Magic Drink Facebook fan page. If you are full of inspiration, share your recipes and pictures of alcohol-free drinks on the same page.
Pasting a photo of you in your community to say out loud that alcohol related violence is a no go serves many purposes:
- It claims back the pubic space from omnipresent Big Alcohol marketing.
- It combines art and a good cause.
- It turns public space into an open, free art gallery making culture accessible to all.
- It is a great team-building activity raising awareness about what is still a taboo among many.
Say it our loud by a picture of you pasted in public space – for example in front of bars, on the roofs, sidewalks, walls. There are many options to express that violence is not to be excused by alcohol use.
Not only that we claim the public space back. We also make it our stage. There are myriads of simple ways to mobilize people to raise awareness. A silent disco is just one of the ideas. Challenging the reality of the staff working in bars and restaurants is another way. And it does not cost more than one drink in the end.
There are millions of people who associate alcohol with violence and who prefer alcohol free environments to feel safe.
There are thousands of them but none really asks for their opinion. Inspire Freedom gives them voice and us the strongest tool – a crowd behind our demands for the next step – advocacy work.
Advocacy work is easy when you know what you want and when you make your case obvious. With the public support rising from the previous activities and facts provided in the Community Action Guide, you are good to go and contact decision makers calling for their support and commitment to action.
All the activities are easy to mix and match the way it suits you best.
As I said, I am very proud of this Campaign. I can’t wait to see its development and what is even more important the changes it is going to bring to the current alcohol norm.
Now I go and send the first bunch of portraits for the printing so the pasting can start.
I hope you feel excited about Inspiring Freedom for many, at least as much as I do. Good luck and see you out there!
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For further information:
Do you want to listen to the vision of JR, the founder of the Inside Out Project, whose concept and platform Inspire Freedom uses for the pasting actions?
And feel welcome to check out the philosophy and evidence behind Magic Drink:
Well, I have to say that this campaign looks really great! And I have seen lots of pictures promoting it where i can see people from different parts of the world. But ,my question is whats the influence of this campaign is countries where religious situation is still being ” against ” women rights basically?
Thank you for the great feedback. I hope you’ll find ways to get involved (just check out the Community Action Guide). You ask a great question! There is no country on this planet where women are fully equal to men, unfortunately. And there are some that have achieved more than others. This campaign can contribute to making women and girls more equal through addressing some cultural, some structural factors in violence against women as well as in empowering women to be agents for change. That means in some low- and middle income countries we have member organisations running the campaign on community level that are driven by women. So they are fantastic examples in their community. In the mid-term and long-term perspective Inspire Freedom will achieve to change alcohol culture in communities around the world, reduce and prevent alcohol harm, promote a culture of equality and freedom in communities and promote women – not as objects like we see today in alcohol marketing – but as empowered, equal actors in societies fostering development.
Good question Kamila! This campaign is to raise awareness and question a norm. It is new so I can not tell what the influence is yet but I believe in it because this campaign is about opening possibilities. It is not taking away, it is focused at adding. And although the idea is general, the actions are developed by the people from the local community who know their culture. And as it is now, every country, even those with the cultures “against” women’s rights have those individuals who are for equality. And exactly those can take this campaign and use it their way. Not anger and aggression but art and creativity introduce the idea and catch the attention. I hope I have answered the question. If not, please ask more! Have a great day!
Surely you answered my question. I hope this campaign will astonish people living in those countries where women have lack of rights or none and that they will begin questioning their attitude towards women. However, in countries where women have at least officialy equal rights likewise men we can still see the difference between them. I mean for example houselholds. Recently I have read an article where one girl was complaining about the division of housework in their home. She feels really uncomfortable about her position, because while she is supposed to do all the cleaning or washing the dishes her brother just occasionaly throws the rubbish away or cuts the lawn. My point is that in most of the households we can feel or see the difference in division of duties. Probably it something that will be changing for a long time.
And I just want to add that I am truly impressed by what you do. I just constantly keep noticing how you burn for what you do. It is simply amazing. When I think of somebody from Slovakia and not justf rom Slovakia who has made a difference or somebody who is not afraid to fight for what is right i do remember you. This values are really admired hopefully there will be more people just like you. ( And mike as well 😉 :D)