Free Hugs Campaign
The Free Hugs Campaign ( English , free hugs - campaign ) is a movement that was founded by the Australian Juan Mann. People from different nations are now taking part.
Beginnings
The idea was first introduced in 2001 with the music video Everyday the Dave Matthews Band known to the general public.
After returning to Australia in 2004, Juan Mann started Free Hugs at Pitt Street Mall in Sydney by standing in the pedestrian zone with a sign that read "Free Hugs". After the first people brought themselves to hug the stranger, his idea quickly achieved almost cult status in the area - until it was stopped by the police.
However, through a signature campaign and the way to the public, Mann succeeded in officially legalizing Free Hugs and at the same time even making them public. Shimon Moore , the singer of the band Sick Puppies , produced a video for him about the action, in which he discussed the beginnings, spread and also the bans, including the associated collection of signatures. This video was later also posted on YouTube by Shimon Moore . The video was very well received by users of the portal (over 78.5 million views, as of October 2019), which made Juan Mann's idea a worldwide movement.
Temporary ban on Free Hugs
The reason for the police intervention against the "Free Hugs" was stated that the City of Sydney required him to take out insurance for possible damage to the person hugged, for which the City of Sydney would otherwise have to pay. On the official website of Free Hugs Juan Mann is in addition to: ". Public liability fear and red tape" (= English about "fear. Liability and bureaucracy ."), Suggesting further room for speculation open. After a signature campaign, the campaign was allowed to continue without insurance.
In China, the police are still taking action against free hugs.
organization structure
Free Hugs may be called Campaign , but it is not a permanent organization. The principle is that everyone participates when and where they want to. There is also no obligation to film or otherwise document one's own actions. Nonetheless, with the Free Hugs homepage, Juan Mann offers an official platform for everyone who wants to upload their own videos of their actions or who want to express their opinion in any way. However, the connection between Free Hugs and Youtube still remains, because it is even noted on Mann's page that whoever wants to be mentioned there should / can upload their video to Youtube and then give them the link. So almost the entire Free Huggern network is on YouTube and is growing steadily there too. Accompanying advertising for other or even commercial purposes is not compatible with the “free hugs” idea.
See also
Expansion in the German-speaking area
Since the beginning of 2013 the group “Free Hugs Vienna” has been organizing events where they want to spread their message of love through hugs. To this day, they have been drawing attention to themselves in Vienna and all of Austria and some group members have expanded their radius to the whole world. Probably the biggest contribution was Conchita Wurst's support at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 , where they opened their arms to spread the message of tolerance. The group actively and regularly shares their love on Vienna's streets with passers-by and passers-by.
Web links
- www.freehugscampaign.org - Official site
- Article about Free Hugs in the Sydney Morning Herald , November 6, 2004
- Another article in the Sydney Morning Herald , September 28, 2006
- Original video by Juan Mann on YouTube
- Video of the angel week of an action in Nuremberg in 2007
- Illustrated Guide to free hugs for viewing via Scribd
Individual evidence
- ↑ Free Hugs in the Press Center! . In: The Eurovision Times , May 3, 2014.
- ↑ #freehugs for everybody, spread tolerance # eurovisionsongcontest2014 . In: ESC Austria , May 3, 2014.
- ↑ Free Hugs Flash Mob on Sunday at Stephansplatz in Vienna . In: Vienna.at , November 17, 2014.
- ↑ Jutta Sommerbauer: "Press me!" In: Jüdische Allgemeine . July 25, 2016, accessed May 26, 2019 .