On Tuesday afternoon, 8 April, the fifth Four Freedoms Meet-up took place at the Stadsschouwburg in Middelburg. During an afternoon-long programme, young people engaged in discussions about freedom with well-known Dutch ‘Freedom Speakers’, including actor Joenoes Polnaija, writer Wilma Geldof and climate activist Hannah Prins. The Four Freedoms Meet-up is organised by the Freedom Lectures Foundation and the Roosevelt Foundation.
Freedom Speakers
How do pupils and students experience freedom in the past and present, and in their own and shared future? This was explored during the Four Freedoms Meet-up with various Freedom Speakers: actor, musician and theatre maker Joenoes Polnaija, Vote for a Woman founder Devika Partiman, writer Wilma Geldof, philosopher and spoken word artist Lev Avitan, climate activist Hannah Prins and theatre maker Abdulaal Hussein. Hugo de Jonge – acting King’s Commissioner in Zeeland and chair of the Roosevelt Foundation – and changemaker Melati Wijsen were also guests.
About the Four Freedoms
In his introduction, De Jonge explained why the Four Freedoms Meet-up is taking place in Middelburg. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s ancestors came from Tholen in Zeeland and subsequently migrated to the United States. On 6 January 1941, this American president delivered the State of the Union address in Washington, the annual ‘throne speech’ in the United States. His speech went down in history as the Four Freedoms speech. In this speech, Roosevelt articulated four freedoms that should apply to everyone in the world and which remain relevant today: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. In doing so, he galvanised the American people, who then dared to embark on the path to liberating Europe from Nazism during the Second World War.
Making a difference together
During the Four Freedoms Meet-up, the Freedom Speakers brought these four freedoms into the here and now, connecting them to the experiences of young people. Melati Wijsen, who was born in Bali and now lives in the Netherlands, demonstrated that young people are needed to make the world a little better. As a teenager, she herself took up the fight against the vast amounts of plastic waste flooding the island. The pupils in the hall can also make a difference, she emphasised: whether they do so by playing sport, cooking healthily or spreading a positive message on social media.
Reflecting on migration, war and climate change
The pupils then split into smaller groups to listen to the stories of the various Freedom Speakers. Abdulaal Hussein, for example, recounted how he fled to the Netherlands and encouraged the pupils to consider where they would go if the Netherlands were no longer safe. Hannah Prins made the pupils aware of the changes that citizens have brought about over the centuries by taking to the streets and encouraged them to exercise their right to protest. Devika Partiman drew attention to online hate and spoke with the young people about their own experiences on social media. Joenoes Polnaija delved into his Moluccan roots to show how the colonisation of centuries ago still has an impact today. Lev Avitan gave a talk about the prejudices he faced from a young age as the child of non-Dutch parents, and how he managed to pursue his dreams despite such narrow-minded thinking. Wilma Geldof used stories from the Second World War to show just how much we must continue to cherish our freedom today.
An informative afternoon
The various sessions made a lasting impression on the pupils. The majority said that, following this afternoon, they now viewed freedom in a different light. They were offered new perspectives and had the opportunity to gain a better understanding of others’ personal experiences.