Website FreedomCollection.org Current status Active | Launched 2012 | |
Freedom Collection is a repository documenting the continued struggle for human freedom and liberty around the world. Sponsored by the George W. Bush Institute at the George W. Bush Presidential Center it uses video interviews to document the stories of brave men and women who have led or participated in freedom movements from the 20th century to the present.
Nearly 60 dissidents have been interviewed for the Freedom Collection’s online video archive, including the Dalai Lama, and dissidents from Syria, China, Burma, East Timor, Venezuela, Iran, Tunisia and Egypt. Václav Havel, former Czech president and a leader in the 1989 revolution that ended communist rule, was interviewed before his death.
The Freedom Collection also includes a physical archive containing documents and artifacts from major freedom movements, including an early draft of the Tibetan Constitution given to President Bush by the Dalai Lama.
At the Freedom Collection's dedication the former President declared "We believe that freedom yields peace and therefore we believe it's in our nation's interest to stand side by side with dissidents, political prisoners, courageous folks who demand their God-given right." He continued "The Freedom Collection honors courage. It reminds us of our duty to be always on the side of human rights and human dignity and the right for people to live in a free society."