On International Press Freedom Day on May 3, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), together with numerous partners, organize Difference Day each year. This year, the tenth edition took place. This year, the VUB-ULB Honorary Titles for Freedom of Expression went to the Israeli-Palestinian independent news medium +972 Magazine and to Polish film director Agnieszka Holland.
The renowned Polish film director Agnieszka Holland portrayed the harrowing situation and inhumane treatment of refugees in the border region between Belarus and Poland with her refugee drama Green Border. She garnered international praise, but also received a hate campaign.
+972 Magazine is an independent news medium - with journalists and staff from both Israel and Palestine - that continues to search for the facts in a highly polarized, violent and tense context.
Philosopher and curator of the Pauwels Academy for Critical Thinking Alicja Gescinska interviews laureate for Difference Day 2024 Agnieszka Holland.
Difference Day – 3 May
Former VUB rector Caroline Pauwels (1964-2022) was the creator of Difference Day, a major event at Bozar with debates, lectures and other multimedia activities relating to press freedom and freedom of expression. The motto of the event is “speak freely, listen respectfully, different opinions matter”.