LATEST NEWS:
Here is Svenska Dagbladet’s piece on the Raoul Wallenberg Calendar (Wallenbergkalendern).
NEW SHOW:
Secret Conspiracy of Hope
Musician/performer Ida Lod and I have created a show about civic courage called ”Secret Conspiracy of Hope.” We use words and song to bring to life our bravest contemporaries and fallen friends, whose acts of courage touch the mystery of existence.
The show weaves together stories of seven remarkable individuals (including Anastasia Baburova, Anna Politkovskaya and Maximilian Kolbe) with powerful songs — as well as reflections that draw on Simone Weil, William James, a Buddhist nun and others.
The first performance was held at Uppsala’s Regina Theater on May 5th; the show will travel to Norway’s Changemaker festival, Almedalsveckan, Forum för Levande Historia, Skolforum, MR-dagarna and other venues later this year.
The full show runs 75 minutes without an intermission, but shorter versions are possible. Ida Lod and I are available to lead discussions or workshops immediately following a performance.
A related article from Svenska Dagbladet is here.
The show is based on the Raoul Wallenberg Calendar…
WALLENBERGKALENDERN:
Raoul Wallenberg Calendar
In memory of Raoul Wallenberg, Forum för Levande Historia commissioned me to create a calendar about civic courage. I had made memorial calendars twice before: as a college student I put on my wall the names of fallen champions of justice and peace; and since then I have gathered material so that I can begin my lectures with the life stories of individuals who did something beautiful and brave on a particular date: ”It was on this day in 1943 that Sophie Scholl set out to distribute her last leaflet against the Nazis…”
The 2013 calendar describes 365 persons who have risked/given their lives or made other sacrifices for human rights, democracy, and peace. A team of colleagues and I have almost finished producing it. The print edition will be distributed for free to Swedish high-school students later this year, paid for by government monies. Three publishing houses will print and sell an English-language edition, a South Korean edition, and an illustrated global edition in five languages, with profits going to human-rights endeavors. Sveriges Radio/Radioteatern will run a five-minute piece about each day’s individual during every day of 2013.