That was in 2014. The “
Dear Future Mom
”
campaign
produced by Coordown for World Down Syndrome Day had traveled the world and had millions of views.
The campaign, imagined by Luca Lorenzini and Luca Pannese and produced by Saatchi and Saatchi, was carried out in collaboration with other international partner associations and broadcast on television and on networks around the world.
The message was expressed, in several languages, by 15 people with Down's syndrome from several European countries:
"People with Down's syndrome can live a happy life, it depends on all of us".
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But in France, the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) decided to censor the video, asking the channels that had broadcast it to stop broadcasting the clip.
Decision confirmed two years later by the Council of State.
The position expressed by the CSA reported, among the reasons, that the spot "
could not be considered as a message of general interest, that its purpose could appear ambiguous, and not generate spontaneous and consensual support"
.
In addition, he considered that the clip could "
disturb the conscience of women who, in compliance with the law, had made different personal life choices."
The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, Coordinown's partner in the production of the video, lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.
After a long journey, this week she is presenting her final arguments to the Court.
The latter will now have to rule on the question of whether French censorship violates freedom of expression (Article 10 of the Convention).
The decision to censor video in France was, in our opinion, a negation of the freedom of expression of people with Down's Syndrome.
The co-signers.
“
Dear Future Mom
” is one of the campaigns that changed the history of social communication around the world. She was born out of the desire to respond to a mother, waiting for a little girl with Down's syndrome, who wrote a letter to Coordown asking what the future of her little girl might look like. The association had decided to give the floor directly to young people and adults with Down's syndrome who, while admitting the difficulties linked to their own condition, determined with determination that their life was beautiful and worth living.
The decision to censor video in France was, in our opinion, a negation of the freedom of expression of people with Down's Syndrome, a serious act of censorship that harms the human rights and the image of people with Down's syndrome, who do not only have the right to be happy, but also to express their point of view and to be heard.
“
We want a Europe where the rejection of difference is fought.
We no longer want a Europe marked by double standards, particularly in France, where the public authorities are strong in discussing the reception but censure initiatives which make this reception concrete, and thus undermine the rights of the man ”,
declares Jean-Marie Le Méné, president of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation.
Robin Sevette
,
one of the French actors of “
Dear Future Mom
”, once again asked the UN on the occasion of March 21: “
Accept me, I'm no different from you!”
Antonella Falugiani, President of Coordown, adds:
“'' Dear Future Mom '' is a film that has helped to change the discourse on Down's syndrome, by raising a look of pity on people with Down's syndrome and giving a voice directly to young people and adults with Down's syndrome. It is a campaign which, even 7 years later, continues to spread a just culture of diversity. In fact, we continue to receive thanks and requests for the granting of rights of use from every part of the world and we are proud to have contributed to this cultural process. We are confident that the European Court will understand the true meaning of the campaign. ”
We are counting on the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights so that the right to freedom of expression is respected.
Co-signatories: The French actors of the clip: Ségolène Deledalle and Robin Sevette; the associations that signed the clip: Coordown, the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, Down Sindrome Madrid, Down Syndrom development trust, Down syndrome Center Pula, Saving Down Syndrome.