Voices of the People

The Saga to Publish the Voices of the People

A Petition to EU Authorities

The European Union sponsored the Voices of the People – a groundbreaking study, carried out in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa – and then censored it without any justification.

The struggle to overcome this startling embargo delayed the book’s release by two years. The volume is now available, but only in Portuguese, in digital format and limited print copies.

In early 2024, we still face several restrictions to its wider availability, notably its publication in English.

The Voices of the People initiative was designed to advance science and democracy in Guinea-Bissau. The project combined various research methodologies to create a unique study. This led to the preparation of an edited volume, Voices of the People: Society, Politics and Public Opinion in Guinea-Bissau, in collaboration with ten scholars from Africa, Europe and the Americas.

In November 2021, EU officials decided to ban the publication of the book and its ancillary studies, despite a contractual obligation to publish and disseminate the research findings.

Our Open Letter to the European Union outlines the saga involved in the quest to surmount these constraints. Moreover, it offers a set of constructive ideas on which to move forward.

At the suggestion of a Member of the European Parliament, DEMOS filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman over the infringement of academic freedom and human rights. In July 2024, the Ombudsman announced it had opened an inquiry based on our grievance. The decision was grounded on a careful assessment of the merits of the case and belief that the Ombudsman’s “intervention could serve the public interest and ensure good administration”. This fact has received attention in the international press.

This website includes:

An overview of the Voices of the People project

A digital copy of the Voices of the People volume in Portuguese

Please Sign Our Petition

We urge European Union authorities to:

Lift all restrictions imposed on the publication of the Voices of the People book and facilitate broad access to this innovative study in Africa.

Review the facts of the case and establish measures to prevent infringements of academic freedom in EU-funded projects.

Support initiatives that strive to listen to the voices of the people and generate knowledge and ideas designed to strengthen democracy’s demos and enhance civic capabilities.

Our Supporters

Over 470 scholars, journalists, artist and civic leaders from more than 45 countries have signed this petition to EU authorities.

AFRICA

Iva Maria Cabral, Rector, Mindelo University / Daughter of Amílcar Cabral (Cape Verde)

Fantu Cheru, Bahirdar University (Ethiopia)

Takyiwaa Manuh, University of Ghana / Former director, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Ghana)

Esi Sutherland-Addy, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana (Ghana)

George M. Bob-Milliar, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana)

Aristides Gomes, Former Prime Minister (Guinea-Bissau)

Nelvina Barreto, Author, Civic leader (Guinea-Bissau)

Dautarin da Costa, Former Minister of Education (Guinea-Bissau)

Antônio Afonso Tè, Former Deputy Chief of Staff, Armed Forces / Former presidential candidate (Guinea-Bissau)

Francisco Conduto De Pina, Poet, Former Minister of Tourism and Spatial Planning (Guinea-Bissau)

Michael Daniels, Priest, Order of Friars Minor / Human rights advocate (Guinea-Bissau)

Reginald M. J. Odour, University of Nairobi (Kenya)

Zac Chiliswa, Meru University (Kenya)

Isaïe Dougnon, University of Bamako / Fordham University (Mali / USA)

Chapane Mutiua, Center for African Studies, Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique)

Teresa Cruz e Silva, Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique)

Ana Loforte, Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique)

Demba Moussa Dembele, ARCADE (Senegal)

Maria Nazaré Dias de Ceita, University of São Tomé and Príncipe (São Tomé e Príncipe)

Eltayeb Dawelbait, painter (Sudan / Kenya)

Issa G. Shivji, University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

Vedasto Hamza, University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)

Walter Bgoya, Publisher, Mkuki na Nyota (Tanzania)

EUROPE

Pedro Oliveira, Copenhagen Business School (Denmark)

Michel Cahen, Sciences Po Bordeaux / Emeritus Research Director CNRS (France)

William Fisher, Provost, The American University of Paris (France)

Yvon Le Bot, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales / Former Research Director, CNRS (France)

Vincent Foucher, Science Po Bordeaux / CNRS (France)

Donatella Della Porta, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore (Italy)

Mohammed Hashas, Tor Vergata University of Rome (Italy / Morocco)

Olle Törnquist, University of Oslo (Norway)

Olga Pombo, University of Lisbon (Portugal)

Orlando Rodrigues, Polytechnic Institute of Braganca (Portugal)

Clara Carvalho, ISCTE, University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal)

Carlos Sangreman, University of Aveiro (Portugal)

Maria Paula Meneses, CES, University of Coimbra (Portugal)

Ana Lúcia Sá, ISCTE, University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal)

Luis Fretes Carrera, ISCTE, University Institute of Lisbon / Former ambassador (Portugal / Paraguay)

Andrés Malamud, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon (Portugal / Argentina)

Manuel Alcántara-Sáez, University of Salamanca (Spain)

Salvador Martí Puig, Vice rector, University of Girona (Spain)

Mercedes García Montero, University of Salamanca (Spain)

Lars Rudebeck, University of Uppsala (Sweden)

Bo Rothstein, University of Gothenburg (Sweden)

Anders Sjögren, University of Uppsala (Sweden)

Kenneth Hermele, University of Gothenburg (Sweden)

Elísio Macamo, University of Basel (Switzerland / Mozambique)

Naïma Maggetti, University of Geneva (Switzerland)

Gianluca Miscione, Zurich University of Applied Sciences at Winterthur (Switzerland)

Pedro Cerdeira, University of Geneva (Switzerland)

Blaise Galland, Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, EPFL (Switzerland)

Karel J. Van der Lelij, The Hague University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands)

Dzodzi Tsikata, SOAS, University of London (United Kingdom / Ghana)

Toby Green, King’s College London (United Kingdom)

Kathryn Hoschtetler, London School of Economics (United Kingdom)

Andrew Nickson, University of Birmingham (United Kingdom)

Fiona Macaulay, University of Bradford (United Kingdom)

James Smith, University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom)

Sue Branford, Author and journalist (United Kingdom)

George Meszaros, Law School, University of Warwick (United Kingdom)

Leslie Bethell, University of Oxford / Brazilian Academy of Letters (United Kingdom / Brazil)

LATIN AMERICA

Mario Pecheny, University of Buenos Aires / director, CONICET (Argentina)

Catalina Smulovitz, Torcuato Di Tella University / CONICET (Argentina)

Marcelo Saguier, San Martín National University / CONICET (Argentina)

Isidoro Cheresky, University of Buenos Aires / CONICET (Argentina)

Ignacio Telesca , National University of Formosa / CONICET (Argentina)

Ramiro Luis Bertoni, National University of Quilmes / CLACSO (Argentina)

Renato Janine Ribeiro, President, Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science / Former Minister of Education (Brazil)

Leonardo Boff, State University of Rio de Janeiro, UERJ (Brazil)

João Pedro Stedile, Landless Rural Workers' Movement, MST (Brazil)

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, University of São Paulo / Former Minister of Human Rights (Brazil)

Bruno Pinheiro Wanderley Reis, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG (Brazil)

Leonilde Sérvolo de Medeiros, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRRJ (Brazil)

Eduardo Viola, University of São Paulo (Brazil)

Leonardo Avritzer, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG (Brazil)

Bernardo Mançano Fernandes, State University of São Paulo, UNESP (Brazil)

Jurandir Malerba, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, UFRGS (Brazil)

Marcos Rolim, Ritter dos Reis University / Former federal deputy (Brazil)

Mara Telles, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG (Brazil)

Fábio Kerche, Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, UNiRIO (Brazil)

Marjorie Corrêa Marona, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG (Brazil)

Michel Nicolau Netto, State University of Campinas, UNICAMP (Brazil)

Ricardo Rezende Figueira, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ (Brazil)

Ivo Poletto, Climate Change and Social and Environmental Justice Forum (Brazil)

Eduardo Diatahy Bezerra de Menezes , Federal University of Ceará (Brazil)

Sonia Maria Bergamasco, State University of Campinas, UNICAMP (Brazil)

Guilherme Costa Delgado, Federal University of Uberlândia, UFU (Brazil)

Leda Maria Caira Gitahy, State University of Campinas, UNICAMP (Brazil)

Fabricio Pereira da Silva, Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, UNIRIO (Brazil)

Maria De Lourdes Beldi de Alcântara, University of São Paulo (Brazil)

Ronaldo Fiani, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ (Brazil)

Aldo Dinucci, Federal University of Espírito Santo, UFES (Brazil)

Marisa von Bülow, University of Brasilia, UnB (Brazil)

Ricardo Timm de Souza, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS (Brazil)

Juan Pablo Luna, Pontifical Catholic University (Chile / Uruguay)

Claudia Heiss, University of Chile (Chile)

Angela Uribe Botero, National University of Colombia (Colombia)

Alberto J. Olvera, ITESO, Jesuit University of Guadalajara (Mexico)

Benjamin Arditi, National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM (Mexico)

Peter Rosset, ECOSUR (Mexico)

David Velázquez Seiferheld, National University of Villarrica del Espíritu Santo, UNVES (Paraguay)

Rosa María Ortiz, Former Rapporteur, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR (Paraguay)

Benjamín Fernández, Journalist and author, Radio Libre, 5Días (Paraguay)

Alfredo Boccia, Author and journalist, Última Hora (Paraguay)

Víctor-Jacinto Flecha, Author / President of PEN Club Paraguay (Paraguay)

Armando Rivarola, Author and journalist, ABC Color (Paraguay)

Esteban Caballero, Latin American School of Social Sciences, FLACSO (Paraguay)

María Pilar García-Guadilla, Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela)

Luis Gómez-Calcaño, Central University of Venezuela, UCV (Venezuela)

UNITED STATES & CANADA

José Carlos Curto, York University / Former President of Lusophone Studies Association (Canada)

Sean Burges, Carleton University (Canada)

Charmain Levy, University of Quebec at Outaouias (Canada)

Mahmood Mamdani, Columbia University (USA / Uganda)

Anne Pitcher, University of Michigan / Past president, African Studies Association (USA)

Carmen Diana Deere, University of Florida / Past president, Latin American Studies Association (USA)

Kenneth Roberts, Cornell University (USA)

Philip J. Williams, Dean, College of Liberal Arts, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (USA)

Deborah Bräutigam, Johns Hopkins University (USA)

Claudio Lommitz, Columbia University (USA / Mexico)

Kenneth Paul Erickson, City University of New York, CUNY (USA)

Sidney Greenfield, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA)

Maxine L. Margolis, University of Florida (USA)

Ralph Della Cava, City University of New York, CUNY (USA)

Joshua B. Forrest, La Roche University (USA)

Marcela Gaviria, Journalist, PBS Frontline (USA)

James M. Jasper, City University of New York, CUNY (USA)

Shepard Forman, New York University, Former Adviser to Head of UNIOGBIS in Guinea-Bissau (USA)

Joe Eldridge, Washington Office on Latin America, WOLA (USA)

Katherine Hite, Vassar College (USA)

Mark Ungar, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, CUNY (USA)

Irving Leonard Markovitz, Queens College (USA)

Conrad Philip Kottak, University of Michigan (USA)

Cathy Schneider, American University (USA)

Gabriel Ondetti, Missouri State University (USA)

Assan Sarr, Ohio University (USA / The Gambia)

Ismail Rashid, Vassar College (USA / Sierra Leone)

Deborah S. Rogers, Initiative for Equality (USA / South Africa)

Rafael Ioris, University of Denver (USA / Brazil)

Rafael Domingues Lenz Cesar, Princeton University (USA / Brazil)

Javier Auyero, University of Texas at Austin (USA / Argentina)

Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, University of Notre Dame (USA / Argentina)

ASIA & OCEANIA

Meysam Badamchi, Author, scholar (Iran / Turkey)

Anitra Nelson, University of Melbourne (Australia)

** Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only.

** Additional endorsements can be found here.

Sign the Petition

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482 signatures = 80% of goal

600

This petition to EU authorities updates the original petition posted on October 2022, available here.