The Unie
A call for solidarity.
Within Team Into The Great Wide Open, there are serious concerns about the state of the world. Not that the people in our organization know how everything should be done. What they do realize is that we must do our best for a free and fair society. At Into The Great Wide Open, the Unie rises in resistance - on the barricades and in everyday actions. Because resistance comes in many forms. Sometimes in independent journalism, activism, or art. And sometimes it lies precisely in an open conversation, a community meal, or insulating your home.
In the Unie program, we talk about all forms of resistance, with all kinds of resistance heroes: musicians, poets, actors, policymakers, and festival-goers. How can we organize ourselves in times when disorder is the order of the day? How do we get off our island, and how do we get moving as citizens – on both a large and small scale? All of this with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a continuous guide.
We draw inspiration from movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Dolle Mina's, and Charta 77: groups that, despite oppression, kept fighting for democracy. Because democracy is not a given; work is needed to keep it alive. The work of (gentle) courageous people, from Marsman to Mamdani, who use their civic voice against fragmentation and in favor of solidarity. Only in this way can the gentle forces win, when citizens get moving.
De Unie provides programming at Into The Great Wide Open, but is not solely tied to the festival: it is an invitation to anyone with whom this resonates to give shape to a protest voice themselves.
Want to participate? Sign up.
Read more here about what we have already undertaken in the past, and what is in store again for this year:
For questions, feedback, or input, you can email unie@intothegreatwideopen.nl.
