Resisting occupation and war. Community strategies of civil disobedience
When war imposes silence, communities respond with organisation. From Palestine to Western Sahara and Ukraine, this session shares civil disobedience strategies, collective care practices, and international alliances aimed at halting occupation, protecting rights, and sustaining nonviolent resistance through concrete action.
Speakers
Issam H. Younis
Palestinian refugee and General Director of the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza. Former Commissioner General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR)
At Al Mezan, an independent organisation founded in 1999 in Gaza, he leads work on documenting violations, providing legal assistance to victims, and advocating for respect of international law and for economic, social, and cultural rights.
Mina Baali
Human rights defender from the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara, member of the Sahrawi Instance Against the Moroccan Occupation (ISACOM), and survivor of enforced disappearance
Detained and disappeared at age 16 by Moroccan police, she has denounced torture and sexual violence. From occupied El Aaiún, she continues to advocate for self-determination and the rights of women and refugees. Her story appears in the documentary Insumisas and the FiSahara festival.
Mohamed Mayara
Western Sahara’s ’Équipe Média coordinator
Coordinator of the Sahrawi Media Team, a collective of journalists founded in 2009 that operates clandestinely from the Occupied Territories of Western Sahara, to break the information blockade that the Kingdom of Morocco exerts on this territory
Cristina Mas
International Journalist at Diari Ara, specializing in the Mediterranean region
Activist in different social movements and deputy head of the international section of Diari Ara, where she has written since 2010. Specializing in the Mediterranean region, she has been a special correspondent in countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Lebanon, and Palestine, covering the main migration routes into Europe. She is the author of 'Palestina des de dins' (Ara Llibres, 2025).
Mahmoud Zwahre
Founder of the Popular Struggle Coordination Committees (PSCC)
Palestinian academic and activist, founder of the Popular Struggle Coordinating Committees (PSCC). For the past two decades, he has been involved in mobilizing the Palestinian population through civil disobedience in defending their land and protecting them from setters attacks.
How to arrive
- Metro
- L4 Jaume I - L1 / L4 Urquinaona
- Bus
- V15, 47, 120, H16