The inaugural Berlin Freedom Week brings together people from around the world who are committed to freedom and democracy.
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| Global Alliance for Democracy |
Democracies worldwide are in decline and Leopoldo López knows why that’s the case. “Autocracies are organising into a global network. Their sole aim is to destroy the West along with its liberal values.” The former Mayor of Caracas has experienced how his homeland Venezuela increasingly came under the influence of Russia and China. In 2014, he led a protest movement that fought against criminality, inflation and repression. He was arrested and spent seven years in prison. Now he says: “Anyone wanting to defend freedom and democracy must be globally networked.”
This has led López and other political dissidents from around the world to Berlin. The first ever Berlin Freedom Week is taking place there from 8 to 15 November 2025. It is an initiative for freedom and democracy on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Over 130 events at 80 locations will see the German capital host conferences, film screenings and workshops that are intended to bring freedom fighters into dialogue with each other and with stakeholders from politics, business, academia, science and culture.
bbc