In a few weeks, Cologne will be colourful, proud and loud again. On the weekend from 7 to 9 July ColognePride will be hosting the Christopher-Street-Day street festival. Right in Cologne city centre we’ll celebrate Pride, human rights and diversity! This year Democracy International will feature the Europe Dome at the street festival creating a safe space for our own programme, spontaneous discussions, art exhibitions and an overall positive atmosphere.
We will offer different workshops hosted by our Ukrainian Vibes project and the Tunisia Democracy Connectors project which specialises in LGBTQI+ rights in the North African country. Both projects are closely orientated towards this year’s Pride motto “Human rights“ and will provide detailed insights into the respective situations in Ukraine and Tunisia.
Additionally, we are looking forward to welcoming delegates from our partner organisations from all over Europe. We will be joined by representatives from Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, Denmark, Greece and Belgium who are going to share insights into their countries’ approach to LGBTQI+ rights and recent developments. Our partners are looking forward to engaging with anyone who is visiting the dome and will not just share their own, but also listen to your experiences.
On Friday our partners of the Have Your Say in EU project will be with us at the Europe Dome. The EU-funded project aims to create a common space for citizens from different European countries to empower their civic participation, to discuss and work together and focus on the challenges of democracy. We will provide a platform to discuss important issues on the future of Europe, human rights and of course what we can do to improve LGBTQI+ rights in Europe and beyond.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Europe Dome will not only be a safe space for workshops, discussions or a space to relax. Our EU-funded project ChARTer will transform it into an exhibition site presenting art from thirteen different artists who each interpreted one chapter of the Charta of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in their very own style. The results are complex, expressive and individual. As much as the interpretations differ all artists had one thing in common: using the power of art to create a visual and more emotional connection with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and our rights enshrined in it.
The artists are residents in the partner countries of the ChARTer project and we are proud to have won Cologne artist AnNusch for the cause. Her interpretation of the chapter on “dignity“ is set to spark wide-reaching discussions on today’s state of human rights across Europe. Posters and postcards displaying all artworks will be up for grabs for a small donation that will support the work of Democracy International.
On Sunday 9 July, Democracy International will participate in the big Christopher Street Day demonstration. The demonstration with its slogan: “For trans rights. For lesbian rights. For gay rights. For inter-rights. For bi rights. In short; For human rights. Many. Together. Strong.“ will start on Deutzer Brücke (Deutzer Bridge) and lead right into the city centre and back to the street festival. We would be very delighted if you would join in the demonstration and stand up for human rights! The group size is limited, please reserve your spot at wenzler@democracy-international.org
The exact times for the street festival are Friday, 7 July 4 pm - 11 pm, Saturday 8 July 12 pm - 11 pm and Sunday 9 July 12 pm - 10 pm.
For a more detailed programme, the exact location of the Europe Dome, our demonstration group and the exact times for our workshops at the CSD street festival please check our social media sites at the weekend or feel free to contact Theo at wenzler@democracy-international.org
We are very much looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces at ColognePride!
