As part of our Visits to Members, this month we had the opportunity of virtually visiting Fundación para la Democracia, whose headquarters are located in Palacio Fuentes, in the city of Rosario. The Foundation is a non-for-profit, nonpartisan Civil Society Organization which is dedicated to the defense of human rights and democracy. Its main mission is to promote, spread and strengthen democratic values with institutional quality. In order to do that, it works with two fundamental axes: human rights and culture of peace, ultimately looking to become a discussion space for contemporary democracy-related problems.
In line with its mission, in 2019 the Foundation inaugurated the International Museum for Democracy. This space, which took more than 12 years to be built, reaffirms the Foundation´s ideals in each of its rooms, which are conceived as spaces open to reflection and analysis of all democracy’s contemporary dilemmas. The project was the yearning of the foundation´s President, Guillermo Whipei, a pioneer in the fight against contemporary slavery and a promoter of a culture of peace. The museum, in this way, is an open window to the present world, with “shadow zones” that visibilize the day-to-day struggle of men and women that try to expand ideals of equity and justice. Since its inauguration, its main goal has been to spread voices from all around the world, while at the same time being open to change and evolution by listening, receiving and learning from what these voices have to say. All of this, has consolidated it as the first private museum in the world dedicated to democracy.
In the second part of the meeting, the Foundation’s representatives, Marina Sala, Lara Chiavarini and Verónica Potenza, shared experiences of the workshops the foundation gives, such as the workshops on grooming and bullying developed in schools from various neighborhoods in the City of Rosario. On the other hand, the Foundation offers workshops for professionals in different areas aiming to provide them with theoretical and practical tools.
To conclude the visit, the Foundation´s representatives shared with us some of the activities that are being carried out to spark the interest of young people and children in topics such as democracy and human rights. On one hand, this year they´ve published 3 podcasts and they´re planning to keep doing so in the future. On the other hand, they’re performing a Conversation Cycle related to Gender, that aims to encourage women empowerment under the motto “No women, No Democracy”.
If you want to know more about their work and how to collaborate with the Foundation for Democracy, you can visit https://www.fundacionparalademocracia.org/