GLOBAL FREEDOMS INC

GLOBAL FREEDOMS (501C3) AMPLIFIES YOUTH MOVEMENTS AND SCALES HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS. WE MOBILIZE STORYTELLING, DIGITAL CULTURE, AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE TO FORGE COALITIONS ACROSS DIFFERENCE AND AGAINST OPPRESSION. WE BELIEVE CULTURE IS COUNTERPOWERAND FREEDOM MUST BE GLOBAL. IN 2024, GLOBAL FREEDOMS CONTINUED ADVANCING ITS MISSION TO STRENGTHEN HUMAN RIGHTS AWARENESS AND MEDIA LITERACY THROUGH ITS SOCIAL PLATFORMS. BUILDING ON EARLIER YEARS THAT FOCUSED ON PUBLIC VISIBILITY AND BILLBOARD ACTIVATIONS, THIS YEAR MARKED A DECISIVE EVOLUTION IN STRATEGY: GLOBAL FREEDOMS CONCENTRATED ON EDUCATIONAL STORYTELLING, LONG-FORM DIGITAL MEDIA, AND COLLABORATIONS THAT CONNECTED WESTERN AUDIENCES TO THE CONDITIONS THAT GAVE RISE TO THE WOMAN, LIFE, FREEDOM MOVEMENT WITHIN THE BROADER GEOPOLITICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND DIASPORA. THIS WORK CENTERED ON WOMENS RIGHTS, LGBTQ+ RIGHTS, LABOR RIGHTS, STUDENTS RIGHTS, CLIMATE JUSTICE, AND THE OVERLAPPING STRUGGLES THAT DEFINE GLOBAL MOVEMENTS FOR FREEDOM. THROUGHOUT 2024, GLOBAL FREEDOMS SOUGHT TO EXPAND PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEMS REPRODUCE THEMSELVES GLOBALLYTHROUGH PROPAGANDA, ECONOMIC CONTROL, SOCIAL CONDITIONING, AND SHARED PATTERNS OF REPRESSION. THE ORGANIZATION EMPHASIZED THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND LIFE UNDER THE IRI WITHIN A BROADER TRANSNATIONAL CONTEXTRECOGNIZING THAT GLOBAL FREEDOM MOVEMENTS AND SYSTEMS OF OPPRESSION ARE INTERCONNECTED THROUGH SHARED POLITICAL PRACTICES, ECONOMIC STRUCTURES, AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS. TO DEEPEN PUBLIC EDUCATION, GLOBAL FREEDOMS COLLABORATED WITH A WIDE NETWORK OF HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS, INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS AND JOURNALISTS, WRITERS, LEGAL EXPERTS, ARTISTS, AND SOCIAL INFLUENCERS BASED IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AND ACROSS EUROPE. TOGETHER THEY PRODUCED SEVERAL EDUCATIONAL SERIES, INCLUDING CONTESTED HISTORIES, UNPACKED THE CONTROVERSIES IN HOW POST-1940S HISTORICAL NARRATIVES ACROSS THE REGION HAS BEEN TOLD, REVISED, AND WEAPONIZED; AND THE REGIME ROUNDUP, A WEEKLY NEWS ROUNDUP OF HOW INTERNATIONAL MEDIA THESE DIFFERENT FORMATS FOR EDUCATIONAL CONTENT ARE EXPLORATIONS IN WAYS TO BRING TOGETHER HUMOR, HISTORY, AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSION TO FUNCTION AS POWERFUL TOOLS FOR MEDIA LITERACY AND HUMAN RIGHTSDRIVEN, FACT-BASED EDUCATION. POSTS ACROSS GLOBAL FREEDOMS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS CONSISTENTLY REACHED BEYOND THE 2,5005,000 LIKE THRESHOLD, SIGNALING THAT AUDIENCES ARE INCREASINGLY ENGAGING WITH CONTEXT-DRIVEN, HISTORICALLY INFORMED CONTENT. THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH ARTISTS, ILLUSTRATORS, DANCERS, AND MUSICIANS, GLOBAL FREEDOMS CONTINUED TO MERGE CULTURAL PRODUCTION WITH ACTIVISMUSING PERFORMANCE, DESIGN, AND VISUAL STORYTELLING TO EXPOSE THE CULTURAL AND GENDERED DIMENSIONS OF REPRESSION UNDER THE IRI. GLOBAL FREEDOMS ALSO FOCUSED ON CONTINUING ITS WORK AMPLIFYING HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS TO WESTERN AUDIENCES WHO MIGHT NOT OTHERWISE LEARN ABOUT THESE CONSISTENT AND COURAGEOUS ACTS OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE BECAUSE OF THE REGIMES STRATEGIC USE OF INTERNET SHUTDOWNS, CENSORSHIP, ARRESTS, AND EXECUTIONS TO SILENCE DISSENT. THIS COVERAGE INCLUDED THE WEEKLY TUESDAY HUNGER STRIKES BY WOMEN PRISONERS IN EVIN, PROTESTING THE DEATH PENALTY, LABOR STRIKES BY HEALTHCARE WORKERS DEMANDING SAFE AND FAIR CONDITIONS, AND WIDESPREAD ARRESTS AND CENSORSHIP OF ARTISTS, SINGERS, LABOR ACTIVISTS, STUDENTS, AND JOURNALISTS WHO DEFIED LAWS RESTRICTING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. CONTENT ALSO ADDRESSED REPRESENTATION ON THE IOC REFUGEE OLYMPIC TEAM FOR PARIS 2024, HIGHLIGHTING BOTH VISIBILITY AND EXILE AS DEFINING FEATURES OF THE CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EASTERN EXPERIENCE. IN 2024, GLOBAL FREEDOMS WAS HONORED WITH A WEBBY AWARD NOMINATION IN THE ADVERTISING, MEDIA & PR PUBLIC SERVICE & ACTIVISM CATEGORY FOR ITS WORK ON THE IRAN PRISON PROJECT, CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WONGDOODY. ORIGINALLY LAUNCHED IN 2023, THE PROJECT CONTINUED TO REACH GLOBAL AUDIENCES IN 2024 AS A GROUNDBREAKING EXAMPLE OF HOW IMMERSIVE DIGITAL MEDIA CAN ADVANCE HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AND AWARENESS. THE PROJECT IS A WEB-BASED 3D RECREATION OF EVIN PRISON, ONE OF THE MOST WELL-KNOWN AND HORRIFIC DETENTION CENTERS IN THE WORLD, AND FEATURES VERIFIED TESTIMONIES FROM FORMER POLITICAL PRISONERSINCLUDING WOMEN, STUDENTS, ARTISTS, JOURNALISTS, AND OTHERS WHO WERE DETAINED FOR ACTS OF EVERYDAY EXPRESSION OR PEACEFUL PROTEST. BY INVITING VISITORS TO EXPLORE A VIRTUAL INTERPRETATION OF THE PRISON AND LISTEN TO SURVIVORS STORIES, THE PROJECT TURNS DIGITAL SPACE INTO A PLATFORM FOR LEARNING, REMEMBRANCE, AND SOLIDARITY. BY BRINGING THESE EXPERIENCES TO THE ATTENTION OF WESTERN AUDIENCES, GLOBAL FREEDOMS AIMS TO FOSTER UNDERSTANDING AND EMPATHY FOR THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO FACE REPRESSION AND CENSORSHIP. THE PROJECT REFLECTS THE ORGANIZATIONS BROADER MISSION: TO USE STORYTELLING, ART, AND TECHNOLOGY AS TOOLS FOR EDUCATION AND ACTIVISM, ENSURING THAT THE EXPERIENCES OF THOSE WHO HAVE RISKED EVERYTHING FOR FREEDOM ARE RECOGNIZED, PRESERVED, AND SHARED WITH THE WORLD. WHILE 2022 AND 2023 EMPHASIZED EXTERNAL VISIBILITY THROUGH PUBLIC CAMPAIGNS, 2024 PRIORITIZED BEHIND-THE-SCENES COALITION BUILDING WITH ACTIVIST AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE DIASPORA AND WESTERN MOVEMENTS. THESE PARTNERSHIPS SOUGHT TO STRENGTHEN ALLIANCES BETWEEN GROUPS THAT THE IRI ACTIVELY ATTEMPTS TO CO-OPT AS PART OF ITS STRATEGY TO MAINTAIN MORAL SUPERIORITY ABROAD WHILE OBSCURING ITS HUMAN-RIGHTS ABUSES, CORRUPTION, AND RESOURCE MISMANAGEMENT AT HOME. AMID ESCALATING CONFLICT ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST, GLOBAL FREEDOMS RECOGNIZED THE URGENT NEED TO SITUATE ITS WORK WITHIN A GLOBAL FRAMEWORK THAT TRANSCENDS NATIONAL BORDERS. THE YEARS EVENTS MADE CLEAR THAT DIVISIONS WITHIN THE DIASPORABOTH AMONG COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES AND BETWEEN ACTIVISTS ABROAD AND CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS INSIDE THE COUNTRYHAD BECOME SOURCES OF FRAGMENTATION AND MISUNDERSTANDING. GLOBAL FREEDOMS IDENTIFIED THESE FRACTURES AS AREAS FOR REPAIR AND GROWTH, TO BE ADDRESSED THROUGH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AND MEDIA-LITERACY INITIATIVES DESIGNED TO REBUILD TRUST, DEEPEN EMPATHY, AND RESIST THE DISINFORMATION STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES. BY YEARS END, GLOBAL FREEDOMS MADE THE STRATEGIC DECISION TO PAUSE PUBLIC CONTENT PRODUCTION TO EVALUATE THE EFFICACY OF ITS PROGRAMMING AND ENSURE THAT ITS MEDIA WORK CONTINUES TO SERVE AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN GLOBAL AUDIENCES AND THOSE WORKING TOWARD JUSTICE WITHIN REPRESSIVE SYSTEMS. GUIDED BY HUMAN-RIGHTS LEADERS, CULTURAL STRATEGISTS, AND COMMUNITY EDUCATORS, GLOBAL FREEDOMS IS NOW DEVELOPING ITS NEXT PHASE OF TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL WORKSTRENGTHENING COALITIONS, EXPANDING ITS THEORY OF CHANGE, AND CONTINUING TO MOBILIZE CULTURE AS A FORCE FOR GLOBAL FREEDOM.