Jostiband Ambassador of Freedom
60 years of Jostiband
- The freedom to be who you are
- 4 concerts in 1 day
- Vlissingen, Wageningen, Zwolle, Groningen
- A year of preparation
- A lot of media attention for the story
The plan
The Jostiband was celebrating its 60th anniversary, so we came up with a plan. As Ambassadors of Freedom, they would fly around the liberation festivals in their anniversary year to play music and tell their story. But would that be possible?
Festivalact
The National Committee 4 and 5 May and the Liberation Festivals were enthusiastic. DJ-producer Reinier Zonneveld and singer Maan wanted to help. The orchestra rehearsed intensely and worked on a solid festival act under the direction of Lyan Verburg and Peter Blom.
A year of preparation
A year in advance, we ‘secretly’ visited the Liberation Festival in Groningen. In the autumn, the orchestra members held a press conference to announce their adventure. Since then, they have not disappeared from the media. Everywhere they went, they were given the opportunity to tell their story and stand up for what they consider important: the freedom to be who you are.
The story
The orchestra members went on a trip and visited Hartheim Castle in Austria, where thousands of people with disabilities were murdered during World War II. They visited radio and television and appeared in all the newspapers. Together with Hema, they launched the Jostisok, which sold and was worn in massive numbers.
Yet the question kept recurring: can we really ask this of people with disabilities? Are we not going too far? Where does the right balance lie between patronizing and neglect? For living with people with disabilities demands something of us all: making space, taking them seriously, protecting where necessary, but above all, daring to trust.
Exuberant party
The Jostiband proved on May 5th that incredible things become possible then. It was amazing. Orchestra members surpassed themselves, carried by the thousands of people who welcomed them with open arms at every festival. It was an exuberant celebration. The energy between stage and audience was infectious. Everyone was touched by the pure enthusiasm, the joy, and the uninhibitedness of the orchestra members. Perhaps precisely because everyone felt deep down: daring to be so free to be yourself—that is something we would all like.
