News

Peaceful Assemblies: Why Is Street Democracy Needed?

11 September 2025
On September 13 at 17:00the final discussion as part of the RIGHTS NOW! program will take place on the topic Peaceful Assemblies: Why Is Street Democracy Needed? The event will be held on DOCUSPACE online cinema. 

From the Revolution on Granite to the most recent Revolution on Cardboard, we consciously choose democracy and go out into the streets again and again to defend it. What is the tradition and how does the freedom of peaceful assembly work in Ukraine? Why, despite all the risks, is it necessary during the war? How does our experience differ from that of other countries with unstable democracies, such as, for example, Sakartvelo, and what lessons should we draw from these stories?


On the occasion of the online release on DOCUSPACE of the film National Exams by Sakartvelo documentary filmmaker Giorgi Mrevlishvili, we will talk about the possibility for Ukrainians to be involved in the life of the state and influence decision-making every day, not only during elections. About how rallies and protests change society itself. And about how the authorities should respond so that, in their effort to protect national security and preserve unity, they do not reduce rights to a formality and slide into authoritarianism.


Speakers:

  • Oleksandr Pavlichenko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union;
  • Ivanna Malchevska, Coordinator of the OZON Monitoring Group at the Centre for Civil Liberties.

Moderator: Anastasiia Bahalika, Director of the Human Rights Department at NGO Docudays.


The conversation will be in Ukrainian with sign language interpretation.


The film National Exams, which is about the challenges faced by Sakartvelo’s civil society in its pursuit of independence and a democratic future, can be watched on docuspace.org from 11 September to 2 October.


The releases are supported financially by the European Union and the Embassy of Sweden in Ukraine.

23 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
 5 — 12 
June 2026
Anna Lazar: “Culture is a space where society experiments and looks a…
Interviews
09 June 2026
Anna Lazar: “Culture is a space where society experiments and looks at itself”
Interviews
09 June 2026
Your Illustrated Festival Guide to Docudays UA 2026
News
08 June 2026
Your Illustrated Festival Guide to Docudays UA 2026
News
08 June 2026
Where does the funding for the festival come from?
Interviews
07 June 2026
Where does the funding for the festival come from?
Interviews
07 June 2026
“Dignity’s triumph over evil”: A Conversation with directors Alisa Ko…
Interviews
06 June 2026
“Dignity’s triumph over evil”: A Conversation with directors Alisa Kovalenko and Marysia Nikitiuk
Interviews
06 June 2026
Her Lens: Traumatic, Therapeutic, (Un)represented
Programme Review
05 June 2026
Her Lens: Traumatic, Therapeutic, (Un)represented
Programme Review
05 June 2026
Watch online on DOCUSPACE during the 23rd Docudays UA
Programme Review
05 June 2026
Watch online on DOCUSPACE during the 23rd Docudays UA
Programme Review
05 June 2026
What lies ahead for those joining DOCU/CAMP this year?
Programme Review
05 June 2026
What lies ahead for those joining DOCU/CAMP this year?
Programme Review
05 June 2026
Docudays UA launches a series of festival podcasts!
News
04 June 2026
Docudays UA launches a series of festival podcasts!
News
04 June 2026
Google Calendar Apple Calendar Download .ics