Together with author and politician Zsuzsanna Szelényi, we’ll discuss the turn that Hungary has taken towards conservatism and authoritarianism. When did the decline in women’s- and LGBTIQ+ rights start, how is that a bigger part of the turn that the whole of Europe is taking at the moment, and what can we do?
Zsuzsanna Szelényi is a Hungarian author, politician, and foreign policy expert. She is the Director of the Democracy Institute Leadership Academy for Central and Eastern Europe. Her book Tainted Democracy, Viktor Orban and the Subversion of Hungary was published in 2022. She served as Member of the Parliament (MP) from 1990 to 1994 (Fidesz) and from 2014 to 2018 (Together).
Freethinker Festival is part of Amsterdam 750 years. On 27 October 2025, Amsterdam will be 750 years old and in the run-up to this milestone, various programmes, including Freethinker Festival, will be organised to celebrate.
About the Freedom Lecture
Freedom is something that we in the Netherlands typically take for granted. Four times a year, De Balie invites someone who knows from personal experience what it means not to be free. We want to share their stories, spread their message, and learn from their struggle. In the series, De Balie has welcomed freedom fighters like Egyptian writer and activist Nawal el Saadawi, Ugandan LGBT activist Frank Mugisha, and Hungarian journalist Veronika Munk.
Speakers
In Hongarije kan het altijd extremer, zag zij van dichtbij: ‘Orbán heeft een radicale persoonlijkheid’ – De Volkskrant
Vrijdenkersfestival 2023
Amsterdam heeft de reputatie vrij, open en tolerant te zijn, maar tegelijkertijd vinden er nog steeds veel gewelddadige incidenten tegen LHBTIQ+ personen plaats, en is er weerstand tegen seksuele voorlichting op scholen. Een groep Amsterdammers die daar extra veel last van heeft, zijn: LHBTIQ+ statushouders. Hoe ziet het leven van een Amsterdamse LHBTIQ+ statushouder er
Come, join the fashion show outside in the middle of Leidseplein from 22:00! Afterwards there will be an afterparty with DJ Lylo in De Balie. As part of Freethinker festival we collaborate with independent fashion label Maxivive, ‘a boundary-pushing menswear label ‘who is shaking up gender norms in Nigeria’ as Vogue puts it. On Friday
Voorafgaand aan het programma zal Burgemeester Femke Halsema Amsterdammers toespreken over verbinding in tijden van polarisatie. Torrey Peters’ debut novel Detransition, Baby, about the intertwined lives of three (trans) people, was a great success in the United States. The book got nominated for the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction in the United Kingdom and has
