Artists pursue political cartooning for democracy, human rights
By DANIELA MAURICIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Artists stressed the crucial role of political cartoons in upholding democracy at the 12th Active Vista Human Rights Festival in Makati City last Saturday.
“Cartoons raise awareness by promoting human rights, especially in our social media content. Human rights issues are often not given enough importance, along with other rights,” Cartoonist ZACH said.
Apart from Cartoonist ZACH, the event featured cartoonists from the Philippines, India, Australia, Taiwan, and France, including prominent artists like Roca and Kak, president of Cartooning for Peace.
With a theme titled “PAK Dem!: Political Cartooning for Democracy and Human Rights,” Cartoonist ZACH said that cartoons play a crucial role in raising awareness about human rights issues, especially in today’s landscape dominated by short-form content on social media.
He added that cartoons are more effective in evoking emotions and in allowing audiences to grasp the message.
As part of the 2024 Active Vista Human Rights Festival, the project “Politikal ang Komiks – PAK Dem” (Comics are Political) aims to raise awareness about freedom of expression and human rights through press cartoons.
Kak of Cartoonist for Peace said that the visual format allows for broader audience engagement, making them more likely to go viral compared to traditional news formats. “And because they are more viral, they reach more people. This can raise their interest or awareness about a topic they were not previously aware of or hadn’t thought about it that way. I think that makes them a very good way to attract people’s attention to topics, especially on human rights.”
Cartoonist ZACH said that they are not spared from challenges such as censorship, decline of print media, rise of fake news, and red-tagging.
“There are many countries around the world where the interference of editors, especially in a newspaper or media company, controls the narrative, forcing cartoonists to create safer cartoons,” he said.
In the Philippines, he said that cartoonists face red-tagging, which, he said, “should not be taken lightly.”
“So when someone thinks differently, that person needs to be silenced. And that’s a big difficulty because cartoonists, we try to open minds,” said Kak, as he addressed rampant disinformation online and the role that cartoonists play in correcting such.
The festival is held annually during the week commemorating Martial Law in the Philippines, serving as a platform for advocacy and education on human rights issues.
PAK Dem features an exhibit and roundtable discussions in the coming days running until October 5 in Manila and continues in Cebu until October 30. (JJE, DAA)
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