Recognized activists will debate in Guatemala on human rights
Some of the most recognized activists in the world, such as the Egyptian Wael Ghonim or Leyla Hussein, a psychotherapist specialized in working with survivors of sexual abuse, will participate tomorrow in Guatemala in the "College Freedom Forum", an event that reflects on human rights.
In this meeting, which will be held under the slogan "Understand your rights, half of the world does not have them", activists from all over the world who have suffered serious violations of their human rights will be known, and along with them, visual artists, musicians and Leaders of civil society will share an unforgettable experience of defiance of authoritarianism that oppresses human freedom.
Among the speakers there is an advocate for women's rights in Nicaragua; a satirical website of Venezuela; an activist against the police brutality of Egypt; a psychotherapist and activist against female genital mutilation in Somalia; and a filmmaker and activist against child marriage in Uganda.
These are Edipcia Dubón, a Nicaraguan pro-democracy activist and defender of women's rights, who is also coordinator of Women's Dialogue for Democracy, a center of thought that promotes open discussions on the challenges women face in their country.
Dubón was a deputy to the National Assembly of Nicaragua until 2016, when the Supreme Court dismissed her along with 27 other opposition legislators.
Also present will be "El Chigüire Bipolar," a Venezuelan satirical news website originally known for mocking ex-president Hugo Chávez.
The site was created in 2008 by Elio Casale, Oswaldo Graziani and Juan Andrés Ravell, and is often compared to the American satirical newspaper The Onion and the weekly John Oliver Last Week Tonight television program.
Egyptian activist and computer engineer Wael Ghonim, who emerged as a symbolic leader of the Egyptian Revolution in 2011 when he was Google's marketing director for the Middle East and North Africa, will speak about "We are all Khaled Saeed", a page that collected stories of police brutality.
To speak of female genital mutilation and gender rights will be Leyla Hussein, a Somali psychotherapist specialized in working with survivors of sexual abuse and recognized as one of the most important experts on this issue worldwide.
There will also be Jerry Sesanga, writer, journalist, filmmaker and Ugandan human rights activist who has used art, both literature and film, to advocate for gender equality and access to health and information services for young people, fight against child marriage, domestic violence and demand political freedoms.
The last present is Ti-Anna Wang, a Chinese human rights activist born in 1989 and whose name commemorates the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
In 2002, when Ti-Anna was 13 years old, his father was arrested for opposing communism, and although no evidence was presented against him, Wang Bingzhang was convicted on espionage charges and is currently in prison serving a sentence life imprisonment.
After the arrest and conviction of his father, Wang began an international campaign that tirelessly seeks his release.
The College Freedom Forum is an initiative of the Human Rights Foundation and was held for the first time outside of the United States in 2016.
