We Got a “Silver Medal” at the World Democracy Forum!

On November 8 – 10, 2017 C4AA was invited to present to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg France at their annual World Forum for Democracy. The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organization.

C4AA Co-Founder Steve Duncombe made the case for artistic activism as a way to defeat right-wing populism, describing how we use creativity, popular culture, and the power of imagination in our training workshops as a way to challenge nationalism on its own terrain of signs, symbols, stories and spectacles.

The C4AA was then selected by the organizers to be one of the finalists for the WFD Democracy Innovation Award. Voted on by over a hundred delegates from the 47 member countries that make up the Council of Europe, we got the second-highest number of votes, coming in 2nd place.

There’s not really a silver medal for the Democracy Innovation Award (or any medals), but doing his “cultural homework” in Strasbourg, Steve enjoyed much Alsatian wine and beer and the local specialty, pig knuckles with sauerkraut. Which is pretty much as good as a medal.