We are seeking a global network of artists and non-artists to participate in a project called "59 Days of Independence". For this project, we will celebrate the independence days of 59 countries around the world that once gained freedom from British rule. The most important part of the project is that we (1) celebrate for a country OTHER than our own, (2) we do it on the date of that country's independence day, and (3) we document it. There is no travel involved. The celebrations happen within each collaborator's own community as a commitment to the belief in "freedom for all" rather than "freedom for me". 

Collaborations with non-artists are encouraged. For example, there is a participant from Nagaland who is organizing the "Egyptian Independence Day Darting Tournament" (July 23) and there is a biology teacher from American who is hiking with students to the top of a mountain carrying the flag of Guyana (May 26). 

Other examples of currently planned events include a multimedia performance by a musician about the life of Roger Casement on Ireland's independence day (December 6), a dance-a-thon by a church to raise money for a school in South Africa (April 26), and a book club that is reading Indian literature and meeting on India's independence day to discuss it (August 15). A poet from Sierra Leone living in the United States has recruited 49 poets to write 49 haikus for the Gambia's 49th independence day and they will rotate on digital billboards throughout the city. We do not yet have funding for this project (we are artists ourselves). Thus, the celebrations may be organized events or they may be smaller extensions of what you already do. For example, if you are having tea at a social gathering, perhaps you pour one extra cup for the people of your selected country on their independence day and photograph it. If you are a teacher, perhaps you have your students Skype with students from another country to wish them a Happy Independence Day. As long as you select a country other than your own, acknowledge that country's independence day in a creative way, and you document it, the format is WIDE open! We will post all of the documentation to the "59 Days of Indepenendence" Facebook page throughout the year (this seems to be the most internationally accessible platform). 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/59-Days-of-Independence/317296465078563

If you are interested in becoming involved, select one of the countries below. Once you have chosen a country, email us the following; (1) the country that you have selected with a second choice if possible, (2) a short, preliminary description of your proposed event, and (3) the country that you are from.

Please email us as soon as possible to express your interest in working on this project, even if you are not yet sure how you willl do it. This will help us to ensure that every country's independence day is celebrated. We want to have as many collaborators as possible, from as many countries as possible, celebrating in as many forms as possible.

Send emails to: Heather Layton and Dr. Brian Bailey

hlayton@mail.rochester.edu

Countries and Dates:

January:  

1st Australia

1st Sudan (now Sudan + South Sudan)  

4th Myanmar/Burma

31st Nauru

February

4th Sri Lanka

7th Grenada

18th The Gambia

22nd Saint Lucia

23rd Brunei

25th Kuwait

March

6th Ghana

12th Mauritius

April

18th Zimbabwe 

27th Sierra Leone

27th South Africa

May

25th Jordan

  26th Guyana

June

4th Tonga 

29th Seychelles

July

1st Canada

1st Somalia

4th United States

6th Malawi

7th Solomon Islands

10th Bahamas

12th Kiribati

22nd Maldives

23rd Egypt

30th Vanuatu

August

6th Jamaica

14th Pakistan

15th India

19th Afghanistan

31st Malaysia

31st Trinidad&Tobago

September

6th Swaziland

19th Saint Kitts and Nevis

21st Belize

21st Malta

30th Botswana

October

1st Cyprus

1st Nigeria

1st Tuvalu

3rd Iraq (from the League of Nations under British) 

4th Lesotho

9th Uganda

10th Fiji

24th Zambia

27th Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

November

1st Antigua and Barbuda

3rd Dominica

30th Barbados

30th Yemen

December

2nd United Arab Emirates

6th Ireland

9th Tanzania

12th Kenya

16th Bahrain