Just Speak! Cartoon Exhibition

The Just Speak! cartoon exhibition in the Atrium of the city hall in The Hague started with a grand opening on May 3rd.

Just Speak! is an initiative of The Cartoon Movement in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the municipality of The Hague. Founded in 2010, The Cartoon Movement is a community of international graphic (or comics) journalists and fans of political satire. The editor-in-chief and founder is Tjeerd Royaards, an award-winning Dutch editorial cartoonist living in Amsterdam. At Just Speak! young people worldwide between the ages of 12 and 18 are challenged to make drawings about problems that they deem important. Professional cartoonists turn them into cartoons based on and inspired by these drawings. 

During the opening that took place on World Press Freedom Day, the exhibition was introduced by Tjeerd Royaards himself. He mentioned the striking fact that the cartoons provided by the young people contain very similar themes, no matter the country of origin. After this inspiring introduction, a lecture was given by the Afghan cartoonist Hossein Rezaye. He fled Kabul in 2020, afraid that the Taliban would discover that he was a political cartoonist working for a European platform. However, that was not the sole reason: Hossein Rezaye belongs to the Hazara minority. This is a group that is subjected to attacks by the Taliban. 

Hossein Rezaye spoke about the importance of cartoons, freedom of press and freedom of expression. With his cartoons, he draws on behalf of people who no longer have a voice.

The exhibition was on display at the city hall between the 3rd and 23rd of May. 

For more information, go to the following websites:

- Rijksoverheid (Dutch only)
- Cartoon movement