The Cartoonists

The cartoonists: a global network of human rights defenders
We are the educational part of Cartoon Movement, the #1 global network of over 700 editorial cartoonists from 100 different countries, who often fill the position of a human rights defender. Their cartoons represent the checks and balances of democratic societies, they make situational and cultural issues visible and spark important conversations, holding up a mirror to authorities and ourselves.

To check out the profiles of the cartoonists we warmly invite you to our Cartoon Movement website where you can read their stories and view their work.

Cartoon journalism is the most vulnerable form of journalism that exists, because cartoonists often work alone. Furthermore, because of their ability to expose often painful truths, the civic space for cartoonists worldwide is shrinking (for more information, read the recent HIVOS/Cordaid report here). This means that their press freedom is becoming increasingly limited and cartoonists face all forms of abuse, silencing, abduction or arrest for using their voice.

Widely known is the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015, but the abuse is far from over. The New York Times abandoned publishing political cartoons entirely following the indignation regarding a controversial cartoon of Portuguese cartoonist António Moreira Antunes. The list goes on.

The Next Movement and Cartoon Movement aim to support the important existence and freedom of speech for cartoonists as best as possible. We offer them a global publishing platform aiming to enlarge their civic space. But we also work continuously together with various human rights organisations and local CSOs to strengthen their position.