To mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, Europeans Without Borders (ESF), Cartooning for Peace (CFP) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have joined forces to launch CARICARTOONS, a campaign celebrating press freedom.
CARICARTOONS celebrates press freedom through a series of six press cartoons by renowned cartoonists who are members of CFP: Ann Telnaes (United States), Pedro X. Molina (Nicaragua), Stellina (Taiwan), Fahd Bahady (Syria), Guffo (Mexico) and Kak (France), President of CFP. A number of them have suffered censorship in their own countries.
These press cartoons have been set in motion by the ESF team to become six high-impact animated shorts, to be broadcast around 3 May 2025, World Press Freedom Day.
The aim: to raise awareness and convey strong, universal messages, accessible in several languages.
The symbolic date of 3 May is an opportunity to denounce the pressures to which journalists and information professionals are subjected on a global scale. It is also a key moment to address the international community and make political decision-makers aware of the importance of including the defence of honest, plural and independent journalism in their priorities for action.
The CARICARTOONS project, supported by Europeans Without Borders (ESF), Cartooning for Peace (CFP) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), involves a wide network of media partners: ARTE, EURONEWS, FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS, CANAL+, RTBF, LCP/AN, TRACE TV, FRANCE 24, PATHÉ CINÉMAS, DULAC CINÉMA, CGR CINÉMAS and their digital platforms.
These media will ensure massive, multilingual dissemination of the content produced, accompanied by online citizens’ debates led by journalists, cartoonists and media education experts.
After reaching more than 90 million people in 2024, CARICARTOONS 2025 is amplifying its impact with simultaneous broadcasts across Europe.
At the same time as the broadcast, online debates will provide an opportunity for further reflection, with a focus on sourcing, fact-checking and the fight against fake news.
On 3 May 2025 in Paris, CARICARTOONS will take on a social and participatory dimension. A workshop will bring together young people from the Parisian Region, aged 15 to 25, from working-class neighbourhoods and often far removed from cultural institutions. Accompanied by mediators and experts in European policies, as well as ESF and CFP representatives, they will take part in a journey to raise awareness of freedom of expression and misinformation.
In the afternoon, a monumental street art fresco will be created, inspired by the campaign’s animated films. This collective work will be installed in the public space, marking a powerful artistic gesture: turning the city into an open-air museum.
It will also serve as the starting point for an open citizen debate, organised on site and attended by journalists, artists and citizens.
By combining animation, street art, public debate and civic engagement, the project brings together different generations and cultures around the same message: freedom of expression is a fundamental right that must be defended collectively.
AWARENESS WORKSHOP
at the “Fondation Hippocrène”, 12 rue Mallet Stevens, 75016 Paris, on 3 May, from 10am to 2pm
STREET ART FRESCO
at the “Atelier Street-Art”, 77 quai de Valmy, 75010 Paris, on 3 May, from 5pm to 7:30pm
Download the Press Release (in French) – Published on 28 April 2025.
Europeans Without Borders (ESF) is an association for education in European citizenship and the fight against disinformation, which designs participatory projects combining art, debate, education and the production of animated films with a strong social and civic impact.
Cartooning for Peace (CFP) is an international network of cartoonists committed to using the universal language of cartoons to promote freedom of expression, human rights and mutual respect between people of different cultures and beliefs.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is celebrating 40 years of fighting for the freedom, independence and pluralism of journalism around the world. Since 1985, the Paris-based organisation has never ceased to defend those who make up the news, establishing itself as a key player in the protection of journalism. RSF has consultative status with the UN and UNESCO, and today has 13 offices and sections, as well as a network of more than 150 correspondents around the world.
The organisations would like to thank the Fondation Hippocrène, the Fondation de France, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the French Development Agency (AFD) for their invaluable support.
