Open Society
The open society is the counter-model to totalitarian forms of government such as National Socialism or Communism. In an open society, everyone has the freedom to express their belief, opinion and personality as they please. This enables people to shape their own life and fortune.
News
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Will Zambia’s elections 2021 be free and fair?
This Thursday, August 12th 2021, Zambians will head to polling stations to choose their candidates for President, Parliament, and local councils. There are 7 023 499 registered voters across 12 152 polling stations in 156 constituencies. Although 16 candidates will be contesting the Presidency, most analysts are agreed that this election will be a two-horse race between incumbent President Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) and Hakainde Hichilema of the UPND.
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Human Rights Work 2020
Human rights are particularly threatened in times of Corona. Disinformation and right-wing populism endanger liberal democracies worldwide. With our liberal human rights work, we actively support projects for digital education, the rule of law, tolerance and media freedom. The year 2020 was dominated by the global issue of disinformation and false news.
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Work-Family Balance, Traditions, Gender Discrimination
The decades-long economic miracle that has propelled South Korea into the top ten most efficient economies in the world has its flaws: The country is also one of the leading nations in the "gender pay gap" category, which refers to the difference in income between men and women. The two authors Choyoung Son and Darja-Neufeld derive the current situation from the historical development and present recommendations for the future.
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Deadly Traffic Sparks Unrest
On July 29, a speeding bus killed two students on their way to school in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. The deadly accident sparked mass protests with students demanding more safety on the roads from the authorities. In a country where fatal road collisions are quite common, the students’ death could have passed as an everyday occurrence. But this time it triggered widespread anger on social media, a wave of student protests and a brutal crackdown by the authorities.
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Behind Closed Curtains: Disinformation on messenger services
The novel coronavirus that has been rampant since the beginning of 2020 revealed what many people, at least in Germany, were unaware of: disinformation is also present in the non-political sphere, and it is increasingly being spread via messengers such as WhatsApp and Telegram. In Germany, for example, two voice messages went viral via WhatsApp and spread disinformation about the virus.
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Equal Rights for LGBTI+ are a Win-Win-Solution
Today is a very special day: Every year on December 10, we celebrate Human Rights Day. On this day, back in 1948, the United Nationals General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is a milestone document as it proclaims the inalienable rights every human being is entitled to – irrespective of race, color, religion, gender, language, political affiliation, social status or other status.
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Fake News Addicts
Social media have provoked fast exchange of information. In the past, traditional media used to verify their information before it was published and thus served as a sort of information buffer. Now information spreads incredibly fast through social networks and messengers and it's rare that anyone bothers to verify it before reposting. This creates opportunities for deliberate dissemination of false information, to stir public outcry, shape positive or negative images, or subvert the nation entirely.
