Traveling is about freedom

Freedom of mobility or unrestricted movement from one place to another. Freedom of expression or being able to be yourself in a new environment. Freedom of choice, or freely deciding what our next destination is. Traveling is about individual freedom, which is the core of liberalism.

These values were depicted in pictures submitted to the FNF online social media contest “Travel to Freedom”. Open to 18-35 years olds living in Southeast & East Asia, the competition garnered 26 entries from five countries in the region. Three emerged as top “Freedom Explorers”:

Samantha Jayapribadi (Bali, Indonesia) in her photo caption, wrote how her traveling taught her to conquer new heights – literally and figuratively

Paolo Nicomedes (Manila, Philippines) captured the struggle of daily commuting and how people are in search of opportunities towards greater economic freedom.

Alianda Camesi (Jakarta, Indonesia) shared how traveling makes her more at peace with herself, and that has allowed her to discover more of her potential as individual.

The contest was co-organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), a German political foundation that promotes liberal democracy, and the Council of Asian Liberals Democrats (CALD), the umbrella organization of liberal political parties in Asia.

As a reward, the winners traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to join CALD’s workshop on how to strengthen youth participation in civic education. They were recognized at the event's welcome dinner on 25 July 2019.

“It is reassuring that the youth associate traveling to the concepts of open society, and tolerance and respect of different cultures, religion, and perspectives,” said Minnie Salao, FNF Regional Communications Manager for Southeast & East Asia. “We’re here together because we all believe in liberal values,” added Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff, Head of FNF Regional Office.