Who Are We?
At Let Us Speak, we are dedicated to breaking down legal and social barriers that prevent people from joining protests for the causes that matter to them. We empower individuals with knowledge, connect activists to build a supportive community, and ensure they feel safe and confident in exercising their rights.
Why?
- Doubts about the impact of protests on real change.
- Lack of activist network or buddies to protest with
- Uncertainty about their protest rights and potential legal consequences.
Our Goals
- Empower individuals to protest confidently and safely
- Connect fellow change-makers
- Track the progress and impact of each protest shared on our platform
This way, we can help you identify causes that truly resonate with your values.
Manifesto
Let Us Speak exists to help people understand and exercise their right to protest, by making legal knowledge clear, practical and accessible. We are an intersectional, volunteer-led organisation dedicated to opposing systems of domination and to building collective forms of power.
Free expression and freedom of speech are the core principles of our organisation. However, we do not endorse or support movements whose goals, methods or values reproduce the very structures of oppression we seek to dismantle. We strongly believe that freedom of expression cannot be separated from human rights. With growing restrictions on protest rights and unequal enforcement of laws that govern public expression, we believe that clear and reliable information is essential for people to express their values and engage in collective action.
We recognise that there are a range of restrictions that prevent people from mobilising which are always conditioned by, and reflective of, broader patterns of inequality and power. Through our work, we seek to lower these barriers by making protest-related legal knowledge more accessible and usable, helping to reduce the gap between formal rights and their realisation in practice.
As a volunteer-led organisation, we recognise the importance of using our time, resources and capacities effectively. While we stand in solidarity with movements that align with our values, including struggles for self-determination, environmental justice, social equality and the protection of fundamental rights, we understand our role not primarily as an ‘on- the-ground’ presence within every movement, but as a force that strengthens and supports collective action. We seek to contribute where we can have the greatest impact: by promoting legal awareness, providing accessible rights education, sharing strategic knowledge and resources, fostering connections between organisations and communities, amplifying calls for justice, supporting campaigns for those facing repression and advocating for meaningful policy change at local, national and international levels.
Through collaboration, education, advocacy and solidarity, we aim to help build more informed and interconnected communities capable of fighting for justice, dignity, liberation and peace.
In our commitment to advocate for the right to protest, we are dedicated to the following principles:
Principles
The following principles guide all aspects of Let Us Speak's work. They inform our advocacy, campaigns, educational initiatives, partnerships, collaborations and internal organisation. They also shape the decisions we make regarding the movements, organisations and individuals we choose to support or collaborate with.
We recognise that our methods and activities may evolve over time, but these principles remain the foundation of our organisation. The way we work, the people we collaborate with and the causes we support will always be assessed in light of the following principles.
FYI: The numbered points are simply a way to organize the text. They do not indicate priority, and none of the statements are more important than the others. Each one matters equally.
1. Accessibility
Legal knowledge should not be reserved for experts, but available to all. We make information clear, practical and connected to people’s lived realities, so they can understand their rights, assess risks and use the law in real-life situations.
We recognise that the law does not always reflect the experiences of the people most affected by it. Legal systems can exclude, intimidate, oppress or misrepresent communities, which is why we produce and share knowledge with care, context and responsibility.
We value knowledge from communities, organisers, activists, lawyers, researchers and people directly affected by injustice. Our tools should be inclusive, understandable and useful, not abstract or disconnected from the people they are meant to support. We welcome feedback and use it to improve our work, question our assumptions and keep our tools useful and relevant.
Our core resources should be available for free whenever possible, especially information that helps people understand their rights and take action. We may offer paid formats, such as printed materials, to sustain the organisation and support the people doing the work. They should help us improve our tools, fund the project and remain accessible to communities with fewer resources.
We recognise that discrimination and inequality are produced through intersecting systems of race, gender, class, and colonial history. These forms of oppression are mutually reinforcing and cannot be addressed in isolation. Political and social reality must inform collective action, leadership and decision-making.
We acknowledge our privileges and our positionalities within a society structured by racism, colonialism, and patriarchy. This requires continuous self-critique, learning, and accountability. Within activist spaces, we recognise that some individuals and communities are more exposed to risk, surveillance and violence. In this context, we commit to organising in ways that recognise unequal vulnerability and redistribute visibility, care, and responsibility accordingly.
2. Anti-imperialism, authoritarianism and anti-capitalism
We oppose political and economic systems that concentrate power in the hands of a few and organise social life around domination, profit, and exclusion.
We challenge extractive and hierarchical practices, whether in institutions, corporations or social movements, that treat people, land, and living beings as disposable resources. Our struggle is directed against systems that commodify life, reduce social relations to market logic, and prioritise accumulation over collective well-being. We seek to build horizontal and cooperative forms of organisation by advocating for people who speak against these societal structures. We pay particular attention to how laws, policies, institutional practices can restrict civic space and limit the exercise of fundamental rights.
3. Non-anthropocentrism
We affirm the interdependence of human and non-human life. Ecological destruction and the exploitation of animals are inseparable from systems of domination that also oppress human communities. Environmental injustice, colonial extraction and industrial agriculture are part of the same logic of control and disposability.
We align with struggles that promote ecological justice and defend the autonomy of ecosystems and species. We oppose practices of extractivism, enclosure and exploitation that reduce living beings to instruments of profit.
4. Non-violence
We commit to non-violence as a guiding principle in both our actions and our internal organisation. We reject harm against individuals and understand non-violence not only as the absence of physical harm, but as a refusal of domination in physical, psychological, institutional and political forms. In our work on the right to protest, we approach questions of violence, resistance and legality with nuance. We recognise civil disobedience and disruptive direct action as legitimate forms of political opposition, while also acknowledging the legal risks they may carry. We do not equate damage to property or infrastructure with violence against people.
We also recognise that state and institutional violence are often normalised, hidden or presented as neutral. Labels of “violence” can be used to delegitimise protest, justify repression and further marginalise oppressed groups. We challenge narratives that portray protesters as violent while ignoring the violence they resist or the violence used against them. Our role is to help people understand their rights, responsibilities and risks when engaging in protest, civil disobedience and direct action.
5. Solidarity and Cooperation
We understand solidarity as a relationship of mutual responsibility and accountability between struggles and communities. We view it as a shared commitment to act alongside one another while respecting differences in experience, opinions, strategy and risk.
We seek to build alliances across social, cultural and political contexts. Through cooperation between movements and participants, we aim to strengthen collective capacity, foster community-building and cultivate social cohesion. We contribute to solidarity by sharing legal knowledge, tools and resources that strengthen the capacity of individuals and communities to act. Our approach prioritises practical support and accessibility.
Organisational commitments
1. Culture of organisation and community leadership
The organisation promotes sustained coordination, long-term planning, collective care and shared responsibility. It seeks to build a culture that values participation, trust, solidarity and accountability. When defining priorities, strategies and actions, we center persons and groups most affected by social, economic and ecological injustice.
2. Recognition of asymmetrical power
The organisation acknowledges the existence of unequal power relations within society and within collective structures. It commits to identifying, making visible, and addressing these asymmetries.
3. Empowerment and accountability
The organisation empowers the voices that are suppressed. It continuously evaluates who benefits from its actions, who participates in decision-making and who bears the risks or consequences of collective work.
4. Decision-making and non-hierarchical organisation
Let Us Speak is committed to a collaborative and democratic decision-making process. Any member may propose a project, campaign, partnership, or initiative. Together, we define the organisation's goals and priorities and develop initiatives that contribute to achieving them.
All team members hold equal voting rights. We strive to reach decisions through discussion and consensus whenever possible, valuing diverse perspectives and constructive disagreement. When concerns are raised regarding a project or proposal, the group will make a genuine effort to address those concerns and adapt the initiative where appropriate. However, when consensus cannot be reached after sufficient discussion, decisions will be made by majority vote, with all members respecting and supporting the collective decision.
5. Roles, responsibilities and adaptability
Roles within the organisation shall be defined collectively and revised when needed. Responsibilities should be matched to people’s capacities, skills and availability at a given time and regularly reviewed to avoid overload and invisibility of labour. The organisation recognises that some members may be physically present in certain locations while others participate from abroad.
Being abroad does not exclude someone from participating but it may affect which tasks are realistic. Remote members are still expected to stay informed, attend meetings, use shared platforms and carry their share of responsibility. People on the ground should not be left with an unfair workload simply because they are physically present. When someone’s location changes, the group should clarify their role, availability, expected contribution and any limits to their involvement, so that expectations remain clear for everyone.
6. Expectations, care, and voluntary engagement
The organisation acknowledges that all work is carried out on a voluntary basis. Members and volunteers may have employment, caregiving responsibilities, studies or other obligations. Participation is therefore understood as capacity-based. No member is expected to contribute beyond their available time, energy or emotional capacity. Commitments should be communicated clearly and realistically and stepping back from tasks is recognised as a legitimate and necessary practice.
7. Mutual recognition and acknowledgement of labour
The organisation commits to making visible and valuing all forms of labour, including emotional, organisational and behind-the-scenes work. Acknowledgement of contributions is a political and ethical practice, reinforcing trust, sustainability and shared ownership of the collective process.
Every project requires a project owner, tasks distributed amongst members. We are autonomous in our work. Every member should be able to use our platforms and be up to date on the work. We use the google drive and add our work to the meeting notes so that everyone can follow, contribute and step in if needed.
8. Money, labour and sustainability
Let Us Speak is currently volunteer-led. We recognise that volunteer work is not neutral: it can create opportunities, solidarity and collective ownership, but it can also exclude people who are not in a position to give their time for free.
As a non-profit organisation, we do not exist to generate personal profit. Any money we receive must be used to sustain the organisation, advance our mission, and support the people doing the work. This includes project costs, events, publications, legal education tools, outreach, operational costs, reimbursements, and fair compensation where possible. No one should be expected to personally carry the costs of collective work. Approved expenses should be reimbursed, and when funding allows it, we aim to move towards fair compensation for volunteer’s work.
Money should help us stay independent, not compromise our values. It should help us share responsibility, not concentrate power. It should help people participate, not exclude them. Transparency is part of accountability. We are clear about who we work with, who funds us, and what conditions come with that support. We should always be able to explain why we accepted a partnership or funding, how it serves our mission, and whether it creates any conflict of interest.
9. Non-violent communication and internal conflict resolution
The organisation commits to principles of non-violent communication. Disagreements and tensions are addressed through dialogue, active listening and mutual respect.
When conflicts arise, members will have recourse to de-escalation techniques and seek to understand underlying needs and perspectives rather than assigning blame. Members are encouraged to pause, clarify intentions and avoid public or reactive confrontation. The organisation values mediation, collective reflection and repair.
10. The manifesto is a living document
This Manifesto will change as more people get involved and contribute their ideas to the discussion.
Objectives
The objectives of Let Us Speak are:
- To develop accessible tools, public resources, and concrete advocacy proposals that support collective action and political change.
- To support social, ecological and political movements aligned with our values within our capacity as a volunteer-led non-profit.
- To strengthen the capacity of communities to act autonomously, collectively, and safely through legal knowledge, protest education, de-escalation tools and strategic support.
- To connect movements, organisations, legal actors, and communities so that knowledge, resources and solidarity can circulate across struggles.
- To amplify urgent demands, petitions, and calls to public institutions, especially where the right to protest is threatened.
- To develop practices of resistance and transformation grounded in care, accountability and shared experience.
- To promote participatory, accountable and non-dominating forms of organisation.
- To contribute to social, political and ecological alternatives to systems of domination and exploitation.