Protect The Protest
Protect The Protest. That’s the core message of a new TV spot illustrating how protest in the past has led to basic human rights we take for granted today.
“The NGO wanted a campaign that portrayed protest not as a risk to society, but as a source of progress. After all, the right to peaceful protest has changed the world and remains a crucial driver of social justice.”
Under the slogan “Protect the Protest,” Amnesty International Flanders resolutely opts for a positive message: that of progress through peaceful protest.
The spot shows no violent confrontations, but rather the results of determined action: the right to vote, the right to marriage for all, the 8-hour workday, and so many more achievements that would not have been possible without protest.
“No matter how you look at it, protesting is never futile,” Sam De Win continued. “From the suffragettes who fought for voting rights to today’s climate youth: without protest, no progress. This insight is at the heart of our campaign.”
The TV spot was made in close collaboration with director Jef Boes.
“We wanted to make a film that makes the impact of protest tangible, without falling into classic clichés of demonstrations. We don’t show megaphones or mass demonstrations, but the real consequences of protest: happy people now living with rights that were once fought for.”