October 30, 2021 -  Wherever they emerge and start serving their communities, civil society organizations prioritize peace and nonviolent actions to help empower people striving to regain their rights and achieve a better life. In its continuous support of civil society, Baytna funds projects that advocate these values, and that serve to strengthen the bonds between people of all backgrounds.

One such project is the Museum of Activism, founded in 2021 to highlight the strong common denominators that unite nonviolent activism movements around the world, and that demonstrate the common goals they all share. Its exhibits show the hows and the whys of activism, the essence of activists’ collective search for dignity, equality, social justice, and the basic tenet that all nonviolent activist movements share the same fundamental goals. Of course, this includes the peaceful Syrian uprising that began in 2011, whose principles for a just, democratic, and inclusive future for all Syrians Baytna espouses.

At the launch, Executive Director Assaad Al Achi explained why Baytna chose to sponsor the Museum of Activism’s Syria Exhibit during a moving address, as he held the white helmet of a Syria Civil Defense volunteer, killed in the line of duty as he rescued civilians in Syria. The helmet was just one of many artifacts gathered and displayed by the Museum of Activism, showing many of the useful tools but also some of the creative ways used by peaceful Syrian activists to spread their messages.

One powerful symbol of Syrian nonviolent activism is the flower attached to a small bottle of water, that the Museum’s guests saw as they entered the gallery. This was a silent tribute to the brave, peaceful activists who had handed them to regime forces sent to repress them in Daraya and numerous other Syrian towns.

Peaceful Syrian activists not only offered security forces water bottles and flowers; they chanted and danced together, arms interlocked in solidarity; they set loose ping pong balls stamped with words like freedom or dignity on steep Damascus streets; they used hidden loudspeakers in bushes to amplify their messages full of hope that their future was brighter; they created art and used humor. Like every other global movement, their activism was peaceful.

The Syria Exhibit featured two special discussion during the three-day Berlin launch. The first, featuring Syrian writers Rime Allaf and Yassin Al Haj Saleh, and lawyer Joumana Seif, focused on the roots of the Syrian uprising and the ways Syrian activism changed the world. The second featured Syrian activist Rafif Jouejati, with Michael Beer, Director of Nonviolence International, and Krystian Benedict, of Amnesty International, discussing global activism and its Syrian inspirations.

The three-day event was peppered with conversations about the importance of nonviolent movement, and the strong links that unite them. With its various planned exhibits, the Museum of Activism will share the messages of global activism, encouraging visitors to reflect on the issues they find important, inviting them to care, and asking them to consider how they, too, can become agents of positive change.